Court halts oil bribery probe

MPs ordered to halt probe until Constitutional Court rules on an application lodged there

KAMPALA

Ministers accused of taking oil bribes appear to have obtained temporary respite after the Constitutional Court yesterday issued an interim injunction halting Parliament’s ongoing probe into corruption allegations in the sector.

A five-judge panel led by Deputy Chief Justice Alice Mpagi Bahigeine slapped the temporary order after the Parliamentary Commission, the body charged with administering the House, filed an application seeking to be added as a respondent to a petition filed in October shielding implicated ministers from parliamentary inquest.

“It is ordered that Parliament ceases its activities forthwith concerning all matters that are subject to the petition until final determination of the application for the parliamentary commission to be added unto the petition,” held the judges. The judges set December 14 as the date for hearing the commission’s application which was filed by Parliament’s Assistant Director of Legal Services, Ms Sitinah Cherotich.

Significance
The decision is a setback to the probe, which started in October and had a three-month mandate to interrogate witnesses, travel abroad to ascertain claims of bribery before reporting to Parliament.

In her application, Ms Cherotich argued that it was necessary to include the House as a respondent for court to “substantially determine” the petition filed by a Kanungu voter, Mr Saverino Twinobusingye, who dragged the Attorney General to Court on October 25, seeking to block Parliament’s investigations of bribery claims in the oil sector.

The petitioner
Mr Twinobusingye is a city advocate, an avowed supporter of Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and reportedly an employee of the Electoral Commission. He sought a court order to dismiss Parliament’s resolutions setting up an ad hoc committee investigating bribery claims and render useless demands by lawmakers that Mr Mbabazi steps aside to pave way for investigations.

Mr Mbabazi and two other senior Cabinet colleagues, Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa and Internal Affairs Minister Hilary Onek, stand accused of pocketing millions of dollars in kickbacks from oil exploring companies in allegations laid down by Western Youth MP Gerald Karuhanga which set off a stormy debate in the House and led to the raft of resolutions passed on October 11.

In his petition, Mr Twinobusingye described Parliament’s resolutions as impugned and argued that the lawmakers acted impulsively to indict Mr Mbabazi and the two other ministers on allegations based on “forged documents” whose veracity MPs “deliberately declined to test.”

Mr Twinobusingye’s lawyer, Mr John Mary Mugisha, objected to the parliamentary commission’s application, arguing that Parliament was attempting to stall his client’s petition. “We filed the petition on October 25, about 40 days ago. The same petition was drawn to the attention of the Speaker and evidence is filed on court record,” he said.
“Parliament and AG had all the time to harmonise their position rather than coming at the last minute. I pray that the application be dismissed,” he said. But the judges disagreed.

The bench
Others on the bench included Justices Stella Arach Amoko, Steven Kavuma, Augustin Nshimye and Remmy Kasule. By last evening, the chairman of the ad hoc committee, Mr Michael Werikhe, said they were yet to receive the court orders. “I am yet to confirm this [court ruling] through the speaker and we will be advised on how to proceed in light with the court ruling.”

ekasozi@ug.nationmedia.com