Kutesa, Museveni America bribe case

How the fight against corruption was lost

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  REPORTERS | When on Dec.05, an American court convicted Patrick Ho Chi Ping on charges of bribing foreign leaders in Chad and Uganda in a bid to corruptly secure unfair business advantages for his multi-billion-dollar Chinese energy company,  news media in Uganda picked interest. How would the government of President Yoweri Museveni react this time?

Kutesa served as president of the UN General Assembly from 2014 to 2015 and was specifically named as the recipient of a US$500,000 (Approx. Shs1.8 billion) bribe, while President Yoweri Museveni was said to have received an equal sum plus gifts from the convicted man.

The timing of the Chinese man’s conviction appeared well set as Uganda, like the rest of the world, was marking the Anti-Corruption Week that started on Dec.03 to climax in major celebrations of the International Anti-Corruption Day on Dec.10 at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala. As the day approached, interest heightened.  What would Museveni say at Kololo about the Kutesa Chinese bribe saga?

Before Museveni spoke at the Kololo event, a slew of government officials spoke in angry, determined tones and vowed to stamp out corruption and deal firmly with the corrupt. Speakers included the Inspector General of Government, Justice Irene Mulyagonja, and Minister of Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo who are avowed fighters of corruption. But none mentioned the Kutesa bribe saga.

Finally Museveni spoke. He had earlier promised to unveil a new strategy to battle corruption in public office. Museveni also did not mention the Kutesa bribe saga on the podium. It was an anti-climax even when he announced what would ordinarily be a tough new measure; the confiscation of property of corrupt officials, and the formation of a major anti-corruption in President’s Office under his trusted aide, Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema.  Kutesa’s case puts Museveni in a tight spot because he and Kutesa are related by marriage.

Still, while commissioning the offices of Nakalema’s unit, Museveni was prodded by journalist to comment on the alleged bribes he and Kutesa allegedly received from the convicted Chinese man. Museveni did not comment about himself. But he said the Kutesa case was being investigated internally, through the Attorney General William Byaruhanga. The President appeared to be mulling two important considerations; first whether there was any wrong-doing, especially if Kutesa received the money for himself or a charity, and secondly; what actions to take. Museveni told journalists that “obviously it was a crime for Kutesa to take money from a foreign company.”

“What were they paying you for?” he said. But in case of action to be taken, he said vaguely that Kutesa “is answerable”.

Comparing earlier Kutesa cases

It is a far cry from 2011 when Kutesa was once again in trouble over a bribe. At the time, Kutesa and then Government Chief Whip John Nasasira and Minister of State for Labour Mwesigwa Rukutana faced accusations of corruption over procurement for the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala. But even before the matter proceeded, the trio “stepped aside” to enable investigations to proceed.

But this time, Museveni, Mulyagonja, Lokodo and others are not the only public officials charged with fighting corruption who have this time reacted lukewarmly to the bribery allegations against a top government official.

Earlier on Dec. 04, the head of the global anti-corruption body, Transparency International Uganda, Delia Ferreira Rubio, awarded President Museveni an award in recognition for his efforts of curbing corruption through setting an anti-corruption office, setting up legal frameworks to fight corruption and constantly denouncing corruption. She did not mention the Kutesa saga.

When the Chinese bribery allegations first broke as the case took off in the U.S in December 2017, MPs across the aisle petitioned the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga to get Kutesa to offer an official explanation on the floor of the House.

Ntungamo Municipality MP Gerald Karuhanga described Kutesa’s alleged act as “a shame to the country” and Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo said Kutesa is “a shark who no one is touching”. MPs Medard Ssegona (Busiro East) and Ssemujju Nganda (Kira Municipality) piled on the pressure without tangible results as Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana cautioned that parliament should not be moved basing on media reports. This time the MPs are more muted. Does the court ruling in New York change anything now?

It is a far cry from March 1999, when Kutesa who was then the Minister of State for Finance, was censured for alleged misuse of office and influence peddling over his purchase of Entebbe Handling Services, the ground-handling company at Entebbe International Airport, which was supervised by his ministry.

This time, it is only the Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU), Cissy Kagaba, who is speaking out against Kutesa. But she is increasingly sounding like a stuck record since she has been making corruption allegations against Kutesa long before he was named President of the UN General Assembly and went on the commit the alleged crimes between 2014 and 2015.

How Kutesa was netted

As part of the case against the Chinese man HO, the American government accused him of bribing Kutesa and Museveni which are categorised under corrupt practices and international money laundering in the U.S. The case involved two diplomats; a Senegalese and a Chinese who faced eight charges of violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Kutesa was not charged or called to testify because the FCPA and American money laundering law snares only U.S. based persons making payments to foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business. Kutesa is not a representative of a U.S-based company accused of violating FCPA and he did not make the payment.