EC official faces reprimand over oil cash bonanza case

KAMPALA.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has ordered its official to explain why he filed a constitutional petition that led the Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma issuing an interim injunction which the Speaker of Parliament dismissed as a “stupid’’ order and adjourned the House indefinitely.

Following the reprimand, Mr Eric Sabiiti, the EC senior election officer in the legal department, has since withdrawn the petition. The decision to reprimand Sabiiti was made during the EC’s extraordinary meeting at its head office last Tuesday.
“Reference is made to the extra ordinary management meeting that took place on Tuesday January 10, 2017 in the commission boardroom to discuss reports of your recent alleged involvement in constitutional petition No.6 & 7 of 2017 where an interim order was issued restraining Parliament, any other person or authority from discussing a matter where public officers were rewarded with cash bonuses...” reads in part the commission’s internal memo that this newspaper has seen.

According to the internal memo, the meeting raised four areas of concern that they demand Mr Sabiiti to respond to.

These areas included; Mr Sabiiti’s actions were rushed, reckless and wantonly disregarded the decorum of a public servant, his actions resulted into his name being widely carried/aired on various media thereby dragging in the commission, his employer that was not even party to this saga.

According to impeccable sources at EC, the other concerns raised by the meeting was that the petition set the different arms of government on a collision path, generated acrimonious debate on several platforms and lastly, that Mr Sabiiti’s involvement in the said case contravened Public Service Standing Orders.

The standing orders provide that public officers must first seek and obtain approval of their employing institution before suing another sister government institution in court.

When contacted last evening, Mr Sabiiti said he was not aware of the commission’s decision to demand his explanation why he involved himself in the controversial petition that nearly caused a constitutional crisis in the country.

“I have not been notified about this memo but may be tomorrow (today) being a Monday. I have also just heard it from the papers….” Mr Sabiiti said by telephone last evening.

When this newspaper contacted Mr Paul Bukenya, the EC deputy spokesperson, about the internal memo, he declined to comment and instead referred us to his superior Mr Jotham Taremwa who didn’t answer our repeated calls.

Mr Sabiiti’s woes started last Monday when he rushed to the Constitutional Court and filed a petition and secured an interim order barring any authority or person from investigating, debating or questioning the Shs6b paid out as bonuses to 42 government officials for their role in the litigation in UK between Heritage oil and Tullow Oil in which Uganda recovered about Shs1.5 trillion in capital gains tax. Mr Sabiiti had argued in his petition that for Parliament, any person or authority to investigate into the decision by the President, as the head of state, to award the 42 government officials the bonus, is unconstitutional and tantamount to interfering with the Executive powers.

On the same day in the evening, Mr Sabiiti secured the interim order issued by Justice Kavuma stopping Parliament from debating the Shs6b bonus issue until his main petition was disposed of in court. Parliament was anticipated to debate the bonus issue the following day.

However, when the issue was raised on the floor of Parliament last Tuesday, the Deputy Attorney General Mwesigwa- Rukutana submitted that Parliament could not debate the matter because his office had been served the court order stopping any inquiry into the subject.
The riled Speaker Rebecca Kadaga threw it out and declared it a ‘stupid’ court order.

Sabiiti’s woes

Mr Sabiiti’s woes started last Monday when he rushed to the Constitutional Court and filed a petition and secured an interim order barring any authority or person from investigating, debating or questioning the Shs6b paid out as bonuses to 42 government officials...