PAC pins PS Kagole on falsifying documents

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |   Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says that the Judiciary Permanent Secretary Kagole Kivumbi is to be held  for contempt of parliament for allegedly presenting falsified documents.

This was the Committee’s opinion after legislators  concluded that a medical form tabled by Kagole, after his failure to appear to answer audit queries on Tuesday, was full of manipulation.the forms were from Bugolobi Medical Centre.

He presented the form following a directive by the committee to pick evidence about his reported sickness under the watch of CID officers. However, contrary to his earlier statement to committee that the medical records were at his home in Seguku, Kagole instead led the CID officers to Bugolobi Medical Centre were the form was picked.

But the report was queried. Committee Chairperson Nathan Nandala Mafabi discharged a sub-committee to the facilit to ascertain details of Kagole’s visit to the facility. The committee was led by Vice Chair Okin P.P Ojara.

On their return, Butemba County MP Pentagon Kamusiime reported that a review of the data base of Bugolobi Medical Centre for Tuesday July, 2 and  Wednesday July 3, showed that  Kivumbi’s data was entered shortly before the sub-committee arrived at the health facility.

Kamusiime opined that Kagole was not at the Medical Centre as reported to the committee.

PAC Vice Chairperson Ojara also reported that Kagole had lied to the committee about his medical visit that reportedly stopped him from appearing before the committee on Tuesday.

He however reported that data at the hospital indicated that Kagole is a client who has visited the hospital in the past for over 20 times.

Kagole’s woes started after a whistleblower petition on suspected collusion to embezzle 34 billion Shillings from the Judiciary. The expenses were also queried by the Auditor General as money mischarged.  

Scrutiny of a detailed accountability document indicates that some of the funds had been wired to individual accounts of different Judiciary officers and Justices for reasons including office operational funds, payment of tuition, and medical fees, among others.

But according to Kagole, the money was spent on Court operational funds, mediation costs, Court sessions, imprest, locus visits, HIV medical allowances and expenditure for Monitoring and Evaluation since these items have no direct budget lines.

Expected to give further explanation to the committee yesterday, Kagole never appeared with reports from his lawyer indicating that he was indisposed.

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URN