Africa-Press – Uganda. The lawmakers investigating Uganda Airlines mess are stuck after the chief executive officer, Ms Jenifer Bamuturaki, and her team failed to show up yesterday even after threats to have the principal arrested over contempt of Parliament.
As lawmakers on the House Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) were discussing how to deal with “a difficult witness”, the committee chairperson, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi (NUP, Nakawa West), received an August 24 letter, in which the junior transport minister, Mr Fred Byamukama, warned against “unnecessary interference” in the management of Uganda Airlines.
The minster explained that “due to a number of events happing at Uganda Airline and some in advanced stages i.e. finalising different route charts that include Guangzhou-China, Entebbe-London, Entebbe- Mumbai; there’s need for ample time for officials to prepare if they are to produce good work to avoid further loss occurrence.”
“I wish to inform you that my top management will be available for any further engagement after September 11. Please note, all these endeavours are aimed at ensuring our young airline flourishes without unnecessary interference,” Mr Byamukama’s letter reads.
Other sources close to the committee also told Daily Monitor last evening that some ministers told MPs on Cosase that in the Cabinet meeting on Monday, the President was livid about the on-going probe into Uganda Airlines, particularly the alleged harassment of Ms Bamuturaki and her team when they appeared before Cosase last week to respond to Auditors General’s queries.
The President, according to Cabinet sources, warned lawmakers against bribes before he accused Mr Ssenyonyi and committee members of playing to the gallery.
Daily Monitor understands that what MPs called Ms Bamuturaki’ s disrespect, the transport minister’s letter and the closed-door discussion in Cabinet among others, yesterday forced Cosase leadership to petition Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa on the way forward. The MPs were seeking help on how to prevail over Ms Bamuturaki and stop what some committee members called external interference.
“It looks this might even be higher than police and we sympathise with the police that we sent [to fetch her]. Maybe they meet a lot more resistance but that is something we are trying to understand,” Mr Ssenyonyi said.
He added: “So tomorrow, we want the ministers to help us understand how they are operating and know who is giving instructions because this management is accountable to us as a committee and to Ugandans.”
On Tuesday, Mr Tayebwa, who is now in charge of Parliament in the absence of Speaker Anita Among, who travelled to Rome on invitation of the Pope, warned MPs, ministers and members of the general public against meddling in the statutory work of Parliament.
The Deputy Speaker, without mincing words, also directed Cosase members to conduct the Uganda Airlines probe “responsibly” in a manner that compliments the rules of procedure and protects the integrity of Parliament. In his communication from the chair on Tuesday, Tayebwa pledged to defend Cosase from interference and asked MPs to avoid divulging the evidence before the final report is presented and adopted by the House.
Muleya speaks out
Meanwhile, the former chief executive officer of Uganda Airlines, Mr Cornwell Muleya, yesterday appeared before Cosase and distanced himself from the mess involving the Shs498b loss that the airline has suffered since 2019.
Mr Muleya’s response came after Buzaya County MP Martin Muzaale asked him to explain the losses since he had been boss when the company was set up.
Mr Muleya, however, blamed the losses on the internal weaknesses in administration and staffing gaps, which he said plagued the institution since its revival three years ago.
Mr Muleya reasoned that he was powerless since each time he identified the culprits, he was defeated because some were mostly transferred to other positions within the entity.
And because of his ‘strict’ leadership style, he claims there were people who ganged up against him and consequently worked for his exit.
Mr Muleya also agreed with the submissions from Ms Bamuturaki, who last week revealed that the losses were because the airline was still at its infancy and, therefore, required at least five years to break even.
He, however, indicated the biggest cause was from interference from political circles and other ‘foreign’ forces that were never part of the administration structure at the time when the company was set up.
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