The corruption scandal shakes the Statute

Faruk Kirunda, President Museveni’s deputy press secretary, confirmed the arrest this week, but declined to give further details.

“Mr Ayeranga is being held for questioning, but I do not have full details of what he is accused of. You will have to contact the police to get those details,” Kirunda said during a phone interview.

Kituuma Rusoke, the spokesperson for the Ugandan police, at press time had not returned to the monitor with details of the reason for the arrest.

However, sources close to the presidency revealed that the five were arrested in connection with an investigation into the leaking of official documents, forgery of the presidential signature and extortion that was initiated at the behest of President Museveni.

Sources in the leadership of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) parliamentary caucus revealed that the president told its members during a meeting held at the State House on October 4 that he was going to crack down hard on corruption between the employees of the two Chambers. and the presidency.

“I have to fight corruption in my office. I am even arresting my own people here,” Museveni is reported to have told the caucus members.

It now appears that when the president was addressing the caucus, the five had already been arrested.

Sources close to the Presidency said monitor that the five accused were picked up from different locations in Kampala and Entebbe, in an operation which started on Thursday last week with the arrest of the office staff and ended on Friday with the arrest of Mr Ayeranga.

Sources privy to the investigation revealed that it was precipitated by the appearance on social media of a letter in which the President appointed Mr Ayeranga as Presidential Assistant in charge of Bunyoro sub-region.

Museveni appointed Mr Ayeranga on September 23, three days after he visited Youth Minister Balaam Barugahare’s hotel and addressed a youth empowerment rally in Masindi on September 20.

The appointment was prompted by Minister Barugahare’s submission of a memorandum in which National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders in the sub-region requested jobs for long-serving MRN cadres, including former minister d Bunyoro Affairs, Ernest Kizza, as well as two former legislators, Edgar Kaahwa Amooti and Karuhanga Amooti.

“The moment you share President Museveni’s letter, it makes people wonder who shared the letter. When the office staff was questioned it was found that they had been given the letter and that it was their own copy that had been leaked,” the source revealed.

According to our sources, when questions arose about the leaked letter, complaints were pending that some of the people arrested had been extorting money from people who wanted to meet the president.

It is not clear whether Mr Ayeranga has anything to do with these allegations, but it is not the first time allegations have surfaced that people who want to meet or communicate with the president have been asked to pay money to do so.

In April last year, Dr. Kennth Omona, who was the Principal Private Secretary to the President, issued a statement stressing that no one should pay money to meet the President.

The statement on X, formerly Twitter, was in response to an earlier post on the same platform, in which Mr. Simon Kaggwa Njala sought to know who the official intermediaries of these meetings were.

“Simon @SimonKaggwaNjal, we’ve always said you don’t need money or a broker to come to @StateHouseUg, all you need is the reason to do it, vs the availability and priority of the President. We have no staff called @DaudiKabanda,” Dr. Omona posted.

The clarification came amid claims by a former candidate in the Busiro South parliamentary race that a lawmaker had defrauded him of Shs50 million in the name of helping him meet the president.

According to our sources, the five defendants are also being questioned regarding a series of documents that were allegedly sent by the president.

Of late, chiefs of staff as well as ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have been the recipients of numerous blue letters in which the president has purportedly issued directives on a wide range of issues.

These include, but are not limited to, awarding contracts for construction projects such as roads and jobs to certain individuals.

The instructions suggest that the president has been issuing the guidelines without regard to the recruitment and hiring guidelines.

In one case, the Ministry of Works and Transport was said to have been ordered to award a Shs124 billion contract for the construction of a ministerial complex in Bwebajja to a foreign company.

In another case, a letter dated February 27, 2023 and addressed to the then Inspector General of Police Martin Okoth Ochora, directed the extension for another five years of the Intelligent Telecommunications Monitoring and Monitoring Systems data

In addition to questions about the authenticity of the signature, there were questions about why the president would have chosen to write to the inspector general of police and not the home affairs minister who oversees the police or the Communications Commission of Uganda (UCC).

Another query in the letter was how the president allegedly spelled the name of General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, which was allegedly copied. The name is spelled “Kaine-rugaba”. General Muhoozi’s names in all official documents are spelled “Muhoozi Kainerugaba”. It is inconceivable that Mr Museveni would hyphenate his son’s name, our source offered.

Another questionable letter was one in which the president allegedly directed the chairman of the Public Service Commission to “assess the suitability” of a person for appointment to the position of secretary of the Lands Commission.

Meanwhile, Mr Ayeranga’s arrest has sparked angry reactions in Bunyoro sub-region, where a group calling itself “Free Ayeranga” is calling for his immediate release.

The group led by Mr. Matia Kajura Amooti called a press conference at Hotel Kolping in Hoima last week. During the press conference, they accused security officers of keeping him incommunicado. Mr. Ayeranga has been denied access to legal representation and his family.

monitorhowever, it is understood that Mr Ayeranga was taken to his home in Hoima on Tuesday where he was allowed access to his home. They also searched the house for documents and firearms. A firearm and six rounds of ammunition were recovered.

However, Ayeranga’s supporters accuse the security agents of detaining him without bringing him before a competent court beyond the 48 hours allowed by the Constitution.

“We stand united as the people of Bunyoro and will not tolerate the violation of the rights of any of our people. We demand that the Government of Uganda and all relevant authorities take immediate action to correct this grave injustice,” the press release read in part that they issued

The group also made a direct appeal to Minister Barugahare to intervene. said Mr. Barugahare monitor that he was going to take up the matter with President Museveni.

“If Mr Ayeranga has not been released by Monday, I will definitely take up the matter with President Museveni after the cabinet meeting,” Barugahare told this newspaper.