The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has summoned Igara County MP Michael Mawanda and Elgon County MP Nyasio Mudimi Wamakuyu in connection with the alleged financial mismanagement of war loss compensation funds paid to cooperatives. Mawanda and Wamakuyu are to report to CID Headquarters in Kibuli, Kampala, at 10:00 am on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
The summons, issued on Monday afternoon, stem from a Parliament investigation ordered by Speaker Anita Among on August 29, 2023, which uncovered extensive corruption in cooperatives. A reliable source confirmed to ChimpReports that CID requested Parliament to release MPs Mawanda and Wamakuyu to assist in the ongoing investigations into the theft of funds meant for cooperatives.
Details of the Investigation
Michael Mawanda
Michael Mawanda is involved with the West Mengo Growers Cooperative Society. The cooperative union engaged JM Musisi and Co. Advocates to claim UGX 14 billion from the Ministry of Trade, Industries, and Cooperatives. However, Mawanda, who was not a shareholder in the cooperative, directed the SACCO to hire M/S Justin Mungoma and Co. Advocates for this task.
The Ministry of Trade released UGX 2 billion to the SACCO through the law firm recommended by Mawanda. However, only UGX 50 million reached the intended beneficiaries. Muusa Bagala, the accountant for the West Mengo Growers Cooperative Society, testified that upon learning about the compensation, he approached Mawanda at Parliament. Mawanda suggested a UGX 50 million “token” for the SACCO’s leaders, which was received from the law firm at KCB Bank in Kampala.
Nyasio Mudimi Wamakuyu
Nyasio Mudimi Wamakuyu, formerly the deputy chairperson of the Budget Committee of Parliament, is accused of colluding with the state and other legislators to pass the UGX 164 billion compensation fund and later benefiting from it. Testimonies from Buyaka Growers’ Cooperative Society implicated the law firm Kirya Co. & Advocates, recommended by a top Ministry of Trade official, Leonard Kavunduria. The law firm allegedly paid substantial amounts to several individuals, including MP Wamakuyu, who reportedly received UGX 1,050,000,000.
Connection to Other Legislators
The re-arrest of Busiki County MP Paul Akamba is also linked to the cooperatives’ funds. In December 2023, the State Minister for Trade, Harriet Ntababazi, informed Parliament’s Committee on Trade and Tourism that up to 30 legislators were under criminal investigation for their involvement in the embezzlement of UGX 164 billion.
Ntababazi stated, “The Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) is taking on files, around 5 files have been identified, and the good thing is it wasn’t only the Ministry; there are more than 30 MPs into this, including five active opposition MPs. We shall also face it as a Ministry, but they will also face it. So, we aren’t scared, wherever it will end, God knows, let it unfold that way.”
Recent Arrests
Last week, three legislators were arrested and remanded to Luzira prison on corruption charges. Yusuf Mutembuli of Bunyole East, deputy chairperson of the Legal Committee of Parliament, Cissy Namujju of Lwengo District, and Paul Akamba were charged with soliciting money from the Chairperson of Uganda Human Rights Commission, Mariam Wangadya, on May 13, 2024, at Hotel Africana in Kampala City. They allegedly demanded 20% of the anticipated enhanced budget of the UHRC for the Financial Year 2024/2025, claiming they could influence the Budget Committee of Parliament to increase the UHRC budget in exchange for this undue advantage.
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