Africa-Press – uganda. The State House Anti-Corruption Unit is preparing to take to court the Assistant Private Secretary to the President, Caroline Kembabazi, who was last week arrested at the Electoral Commission (EC) on allegations that she was threatening workers there over failure to offer jobs to two relatives.
Sources at the SHACU revealed that Kembabazi who was arrested by the Police detectives attached to the unit had allegedly threatened to take action against some top officials of the EC if they rejected her demands to offer jobs to two of her relatives.
The detectives allegedly found her still grilling officials of the human resource department and took her to the SHACU. The visibly scared official was grilled for some time and told to write a statement but was released on Police bond and told to report back for further questioning.
It was indicated that the senior staff in the human resource department who were embarrassed by Kembabazi’s statements called State House for intervention but they referred them to the Anti-Corruption Unit which immediately sent a team who arrested her.
The EC spokesperson, Paul Bukenya, confirmed the incident saying a senior official at the Office of the President had put the workers at ransom demanding two offers for her relatives.
He said one of their officials in the human resource was put under undue pressure to yield to her demands, which he said were not available.
Bukenya, however, declined to divulge further details, saying the EC had already been put on notice for the case to be taken to court.
“We have been notified that the official will soon be produced in court and, therefore, I cannot give you further information,” he stated.
Col. Edith Nakalema, the head of the SHACU, on December 1 told participants during an anticorruption convention at Royal Suites Hotel, Bugolobi that she had ordered the arrest of a senior secretary to the President.
Nakalema who was defending her staff against accusations of bribery stated that she does not spare anybody reported in allegations of corruption.
She said President Yoweri Museveni had good intentions of appointing people in various offices and that he does not have the capacity to ‘search’ their souls on whether they will be corrupt or not.
“The President appoints people in trust that they are going to do what they are supposed to do, although others betray his trust,” she said.
Answering concerns on what she could do to fellow State House workers who may be involved in corruption, Nakalema said that recently two presidential advisors, Dr Hillary Musoke aka Kisanja and Catherine Kusasira, were arrested after she received complaints that they could have had links with Pastor Sirajje Ssemanda who allegedly defrauded fellow pastors billions of shillings.
“I can confirm to you that even yesterday Police attached to our unit summoned one of the private secretaries to the President,” she said.
“So, once people report officials, whether they work in State House or Office of the President, his ADCs or soldiers around him, we shall not hesitate to arrest them as long as the cases against them have substantial evidence,” she said.
According to Nakalema, the investigators, however, find themselves in a dilemma when people report cases but after investigations, they refuse to turn up in court to give evidence to defend the accusations.
She, however, said anybody remains innocent until proven guilty.
“Even at State House, once there is a case against any official whether top, bottom, or middle, we shall investigate it but we need evidence not mere rumors,” she said.
