Mutebile set to be cleared in Basajja cash scam

Whereas Basajjabala had deposited the titles as security, he reportedly managed to get them cancelled and new ones issued by the Land Registry, which were then transferred to new owners.

Bank of Uganda Governor Tumusiime Mutebile could very soon be cleared of any crime in the Shs142 billion irregular compensation of city Businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba, following a year of investigations into the matter.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP)’s office last week returned the file that was forwarded to his P. 4

office by the Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID) to police, seeking more statements.

Among the statements requested for was a second statement from the secretary to the board committee on Finance from the central bank showing whether or not the governor had been granted authority to pay Mr Basajjabalaba.

According to sources privy to the ongoing investigations, the board secretary’s response indicated they had cleared the governor to make the payments.

The file, which names Mr Mutebile, former Finance Minister Syda Bbumba and former Attorney General Khiddu Makubuya in a conspiracy that irregularly compensated Mr Basajjabalaba, has been re-submitted to the DPP by police for sanctioning.

The spokesperson in the office of DPP, Ms Jane Kajuga, confirmed they requested for the statement but declined to give details.

“The directorate cannot state whether or not the statement clears Mr Mutebile until the file has been conclusively looked into. I can also not comment on the requests we made to police for additional information,” Mr Kajuga told the Saturday Monitor in a telephone interview.

Initial investigations by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament and CIID had failed to find any evidence, in statement or documentary form showing the bank committee’s link to the compensation until this week.

Mutebile blamed
Mr Mutebile had also been faulted for failing to raise an alarm and question the compensation process after realising that the money was being paid to a man who he was already pursuing in a case of forgery and fraud.
When Basajjabalaba was given the Shs142b, BoU was pursuing him over forgery of land titles the central bank was holding in connection to an earlier cash bail-out of over Shs20b advanced to the businessman.

Whereas Basajjabala had deposited the titles as security, he reportedly managed to get them cancelled and new ones issued by the Land Registry, which were then transferred to new owners.

The Shs142b compensation by the government arose from the reversing of the then Kampala City Council decision to sell Nakasero, Shauriyako, St. Balikuddembe (Owino) markets and the Constitution Square to Mr Basajjabalaba.

The compensation process was marred with irregularities, later leading to the resignation of Prof. Makubuya and Ms Bbumba as well as calls by legislators that Mr Mutebile steps down.

An audit by the Office of the Auditor General found no basis for the compensation, noting that the claims were heavily inflated in any case, and that, in reality, it was the businessman who owed the government some Shs900m in unpaid taxes and fees.

djeanne@ug.nationmedia.com