Information Minister faces arrest for dodging MPs

Kampala
Lawmakers on the Public Accounts Committee have threatened to order the arrest of Information and National Guidance Minister Kabakumba Masiko after she failed to appear before the accountability committee for a scheduled early morning hearing.

Ms Kabakumba was summoned on Thursday last week to substantiate claims she made suggesting that the watchdog committee was responsible for the February 14 death of businessman Joseph Behakanira, a key witness in Parliament’s ongoing probe of the 2007 Kampala Commonwealth meeting.

Behakanira’s death
Mr Behakanira, the owner of J&M Airport Hotel at Bwebajja, died three days after he appeared before the Committee to respond to queries related to a cash advancement of $1.3 million which the government gave him to ready his hotel for the historic summit.
The committee discovered that the government issued payments to the businessman, a few days to the summit even though the services of his hotel were never used.

“I have just received a letter from the Minister dated February 19, saying she cannot come and that she has gone to Arua,” said Pac Chairman Nandala Mafabi.

The revelation left several committee members seething, with some questioning why the letter was only delivered on MOnday and yet it was authored on Friday last week.

“These are summons,” said Rubanda West MP Henry Banyenzaki. “Kabakumba must comply with the law of the land. If she doesn’t appear we should use the powers we have and order CID to go and pick her up from wherever she is.”

“By 9 o’clock [Monday morning] she wasn’t here,” noted Bukedea MP Charles Oduman. “Instead we received a letter dated February 19 at 2pm.”

“This letter must have been written this morning [yesterday],” said Kasilo MP Elijah Okupa.

Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo then moved to implore Mr Mafabi to make an example of Ms Kabakumba by ordering her arrest.
“We can employ the services of the CID to apprehend her on sight at Parliament,” he said.

However, Bunyaruguru MP Gaudioso Tindamanyire begged his fellow committee members to exercise the ideals of “natural justice” by offering the minister another opportunity, citing her apology.

His request was challenged by MPs Banyenzaki and Ssekikubo who described her no-show as a glaring contempt of Parliament.

But after a few minutes of haggling, Mr Mafabi ruled and said the committee would offer Ms Kabakumba a one-week ultimatum to appear before it on March 1. Ms Kabakumba’s troubles follow comments she made at Mr Behakanira’s funeral service in which she described the Pac as “a nightmare” and accused the committee of inflicting the deceased with “psychological torture.”

Disciplinary action
“We need to bring her [Kabakumba] to order,” said Mr Banyenzaki, citing a report by The Observer in which the Minister is quoted as standing by her comments. “She is undermining this committee to cause public disaffection.”
Mr Okupa accused Ms Kabakumba of “definitely trying to cause hatred with the public,” before he reported that he was “shocked” to hear comments made by a government minister whom he declined to name, allegedly glorifying the Sunday death of committee member David Ringe Chan.
The Padyere MP collapsed and died at the weekend following a short illness.

Daily Monitor could not obtain a comment from Ms Kabakumba who declined to respond to repeated calls.