Editor
Allegedly, a portion of the 200 iron sheets that Rubanda East Member of Parliament Henry Ariganyira Musasizi purportedly received from the Office of the Prime Minister has been found used in roofing a new building at Kakore Catholic Parish in Rubanda District. This discovery comes six months after the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo, closed the files of 17 ministers and high-ranking government officials due to a perceived lack of substantial evidence.
Among those whose files were dropped are Vice President Jessica Alupo, Prime Minister Robina Nabanja, Parliament Speaker Anita Among, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, and Minister of State for Finance in charge of General Duties Henry Ariganyira Musasizi, among others.
In February, Musasizi claimed to have received 200 iron sheets, which he handed over to Kakore-Rugambwa Catholic Parish priest Rev Fr Herbert Agaba to support various learning institutions and churches in the district. Rev Fr Agaba confirmed the receipt of the iron sheets at that time.
In April, Syliver Karimunda, a member of the construction committee at Isingiro Catholic Church in Igomanda parish of Hamurwa Sub County, confirmed that the church received sixty-four iron sheets for the catechist’s house.
Now, seven months later, some of the iron sheet pieces have been utilized to roof a building at Kakore-Rugambwa Catholic Parish, despite President Yoweri Museveni’s directive for leaders implicated in the saga to return the iron sheets to the Office of the Prime Minister. An investigation by our reporter revealed that the iron sheets were labeled with the Office of the Prime Minister.
The Kakore-Rugambwa Catholic Parish Priest, Rev Fr Deusdedit Maniragaba, stated that he has no information about the iron sheets, as he was recently posted there. However, he promised to provide feedback after consultations.
When contacted, DPP Abodo declined to comment on the matter and referred our reporter to the Public Relations Officer of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Jacquelyn Okui, who did not respond to repeated phone calls.
In December 2021, Parliament approved a 39 billion Shillings supplementary budget to support livelihood programs in Karamoja. Out of this allocation, 22 billion was earmarked for purchasing goats, and five billion for procuring 100,000 iron sheets. Unfortunately, these items have reportedly been mismanaged, with the iron sheets ending up in the possession of politicians scattered across different parts of the country.
