MPs baffled by birth, academic certificates of new UCAA boss

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Aviation is the most accurate industry where even a 0.0001 percentage error is not permissible as it can end in hundreds of sudden deaths. It is therefore baffling legislators that the birth date of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority-UCAA Director General, Fred Bamwesigye, cannot be stated with specificity, leaving a whole four years margin of error in his age.

This has prompted the Members of Parliament to ask Fred Bamwesigye to produce his birth certificate and academic papers to help ascertain his age.

The Parliamentary Committee on Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises-COSASE, chaired by Nakawa West MP Joel Ssenyonyi, which is propping into irregularities related to expansion works at Entebbe International Airport, has now taken interest in a petition that indicates that Bamwesigye didn’t qualify for the CAA Director General’s job, that required that the applicant should be between 35 to 55 years of age.

Jabbe Pascal Osinde Osudo, the former Director of Human Resource and Administration at UCAA, on October 11th petitioned the Committee saying that Bamwesigye was irregularly recruited, as he didn’t meet the criteria in the advert.

Osinde also claims that Bamwesigye’s academic documents contain several discrepancies. He also argues that based on his passport, Bamwesigye was above the 55-year age limit when he was appointed, which was a key recruitment requirement. In his evidence backing the petition, Osinde indicates that Bamwesigye has three dates of birth.

His passport issued on July 23, 2004, shows that Bamwesigye was born on November 27, 1963, while another passport shows that he was born on November 27, 1967.

“Mr Kanyogoga lists his birth date as Nov 27th, 1963 on his NSSF Card number 6317900004622; Mr Kanyogoga in his application to join Makerere University lists his birth date as 27th November 1964,” reads the petition.

The petition shows that when it comes to academics, Bamwesigye claims that he was born on November 27, 1967, and in one of the results slips he tenders in the names of Fred Kanyogoga, he sat PLE in 1976, which implies that he joined primary one at about one year of age.

“In his official records and CV, he indicated that he sat PLE in 1978 as Fred Bamwesigye, he also goes ahead to list that he had sat UCE in 1981, two years after completion of PLE,” reads the petition. ‘From the various documents submitted by Fred Kanyogoga Bamwesigye, he possesses various dates of birth and several results for PLE, UCE and UACE.”

Now the Committee led by Joel Ssenyonyi has tasked the CAA boss appointed a week ago to bring his original birth certificate, Primary Leaving Examinations-PLE pass slip, Ordinary and Advanced level certificates to clarify on the issue of his age, as the discrepancies in age would mean Bamwesigye is way beyond 55 years.

Bamwesigye however told the committee that some of the years indicated were a mistake and were corrected. He told the committee that he will bring the documents and the committee should proceed with the initial probe on the Entebbe Airport expansion.

He says the whistle blowers aims were to disorganize the committee from their probe.

Although several members of the committee had insisted that the CAA boss should me tasked to provide all these evidences, the Kazo County MP Dan Atwijukire guided that since Bamwesigye had pledged to bring the documents, the committee should allow him do so.

Judith Achan Peace, the Nwoya Woman MP supported Atwijukire on this, asking the committee to move on with the main probe.

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