Nandala denies bribe claims by UNRA probe

Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi

Kampala.

Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi has dismissed claims contained in the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) commission of inquiry report that, while serving as chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accouts Committee (PAC), he deliberately suppressed the annual Auditor General’s reports for the national roads body, after allegedly pocketing bribes.

Mr Mafabi, who served as PAC chairman between 2006 and 2011 during the eighth Parliament, acknowledged he was invited to testify before the commission but the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga intervened and invoked parliamentary immunity.

“I handled only one report for the financial year ending 2009-2010 in 2011; my committee discussed it and issued a report out. If it was not discussed by Parliament, surely how does that become my problem?” he asked.

Mr Mafabi, who is also the FDC secretary general, also presented copies of the Hansard in which the last AG’s audit report of UNRA was tabled before the eighth Parliament and then Speaker now Vice President Edward Ssekandi acknowledged receipt of the PAC report although it was not discussed.

He said the reports for the subsequent financial years that the UNRA commission highlighted as not having been discussed by PAC were “none of my” business. “I find the claim that I was invited and declined to turn up not only erroneous but also damaging,” Mr Mafabi said yesterday.

The final commission report released on Wednesday by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire indicated that UNRA lost an estimated Shs4 trillion which was “misappropriated” over seven years through dubious deals, notably through collusion between its own staff and contractors.

The report says the Auditor General submitted to the commission six sets of his annual accountability reports for 2008/09 up to 2013/14 but none had been debated by PAC by 2015 when the commission started its inquiry. Mr Nandala and Mr Kassiano Wadri headed PAC at different times between 2009 and 2015.

Mr Wadri in an earlier interview acknowledged being invited to testify before the commission but said the Speaker stopped him “on grounds that the invitation did not follow right procedure.”

Director of communications at Parliament Chris Obore confirmed that: “Committees of Parliament carry out delegated duties ...on behalf of the Speaker so if anyone is to summon any of their members, you have to do so through the Speaker.”