Museveni calls IGG, Mutebile to order

President Museveni, Tumusiime- Mutebile and Irene Mulyagonja

What you need to know:

  • Threat: Recently, Ms Mulyagonja insisted that she would investigate Mr Mutebile for suspected unfair staff changes he made at BoU last month. On March 12, the IGG wrote to the Central Bank board not to approve Mr Mutebile’s administrative changes until her office had concluded its investigations or directed otherwise.
  • However, on March 19, Mr Mutebile wrote back to the IGG, rejecting her directive and reminding her that she had no powers to investigate the Central Bank or its Governor. The IGG described Mr Mutebile’s statement as a misguided interpretation of the constitutional provision,, insisting that her office has the mandate to investigate him and she will proceed to do so.
  • Warning: At the weekend, the IGG warned that should any official of Bank of Uganda decline to respond to her summons, an arrest warrant could be issued against that person. Appearing on KFM radio’s talk show VPN, Ms Mulyagonja said she was carrying on with investigations into the alleged “unfair” staff transfers in BoU and that Mr Mutebile, an economist, should not take over the role of interpreting the law from her.

Kampala. President Museveni summoned Bank of Uganda Governor Tumusiime-Mutebile and the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Ms Irene Mulyagonja, for a meeting on Monday to defuse the escalating tension between the two principals and called them to order.

Mr Mutebile and Ms Mulyagonja have been embroiled in an antagonistic public exchange that was triggered by a contested reshuffle of senior executives and staff at Bank of Uganda (BoU) on January 7.
Some aggrieved staff contested the reshuffle and petitioned the IGG, who responded by asking the Central Bank’s board not to approve the administrative changes made by Mutebile until her officer concluded the investigations or issued contrary orders.

On March 12, Ms Mulyagonja wrote to the board, which coincidentally is chaired by Mr Mutebile as the BoU Governor, directing that the staff changes be put on hold pending disposal of the dispute into alleged unfair appointments.
A week later, Mr Mutebile wrote back telling Ms Mulyagonja that her “investigation is redundant” and she had no power to direct the Central Bank on how to do its work.
He said decisions of the bank are protected against external influence under the Constitution.

Threats
Appearing on a radio show on KFM, a sister media outlet of Daily Monitor, at the weekend, Ms Mulyagonja subsequently said Mr Mutebile cannot teach her to interpret the law and insisted she would investigate him, suggesting she could even arrest him. Ms Mulyagonja is a High Court judge.

With the escalation of the exchange between the two top officials, Mr Museveni summoned them for a meeting at State House, Entebbe on Monday evening. He asked them to explain the genesis of their adversarial stance against each other.
Mr Museveni met the duo after the routine Monday Cabinet meeting, Information Minister Frank Tumwebaze confirmed. However, the Cabinet did not discuss their wrangling.

According to sources, a joint meeting called by the President to resolve the standoff between the IGG and the Governor, however, ended with a win-win for the two principals.
The meeting, according to other sources, instructed the IGG to back off investigations into “internal transfers” and only focus on “fresh appointments” at BoU. The meeting heard that Mr Mutebile hired six people outside BoU without interviews.
Mr Mutebile on February 7 sent out a memo announcing staff transfers and new hires.

However, the MPs, who attended the State House meeting, told this newspaper that the meeting blamed the IGG for interfering in the internal operations of the bank before they allowed her to look into the fresh appointments.
The meeting also faulted the Governor for “hiring outsiders” without the involvement of the board.
They said it was wrong for the IGG to interfere before the BoU board sat to discuss the petition filed by sections of aggrieved employees.

Mr Mutebile retired Ms Justine Bagyenda, the executive director commercial banks supervision, with “immediate effect” and replaced with Dr Tumubweine Twinemanzi, who was the director of industry affairs and content (economic affairs) at Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).
Ms Bagyenda, who is being investigated by Financial Intelligence Authority and IGG over the alleged accumulation of wealth, has since objected to the changes and refused to hand over office.
Others sources privy to the proceedings of the meeting said the President asked Mr Mutebile to explain why he made sweeping changes at the Central Bank without following the laid out procedures in the BoU Act that require approval from the Board.

The source said Mr Mutebile told the President that Parliament had delayed in approving new members of the board, leaving him with no option but to proceed with the appointments. On November 29, Mr Museveni wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, nominating four new members of the BoU board for vetting.
However, the Appointments Committee did not convene to approve them because Parliament was caught up in the chaos that marred the passing of the Constitution Amendment Bill at that time.
The committee only convened on February 1 to approve the board while Mr Mutebile announced the disputed reshuffle on February 7.

Unavailable
Mr Mutebile was unavailable for a comment about the State House meeting as his mobile phone numbers remained off.
When contacted, Ms Charity Mugumya, the BoU director of communication, said she was not in position to divulge proceedings of the meeting.
“I can confirm that the meeting did take place but that was a high-level meeting. Right now, I do not have the details. If they [President, Governor and IGG] want the details released, they will release them in their own good time. I am not party to the details yet, ” Ms Mugumya said.

A source who attended the meeting told Daily Monitor that Mr Museveni was not pleased with the IGG’s public outbursts against the BoU Governor and asked her to “streamline” her investigation and ensure there are no more leaks of the inquiry to the media.
Ms Mulyagonja confirmed the President directed her to “streamline” her investigation but denied being ordered to “back off” the entire investigation.

“We were not told to back off because that would mean Bank of Uganda is beyond reproach which is not the case. The President emphasised that the meeting was confidential and I cannot be the one talking to the press. Whatever is going to happen will remain between the staff of the Inspectorate and Bank of Uganda because this is the Central Bank,” Ms Mulyagonja said.

MPs attend
Selected MPs on Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) were drafted into the meeting because the committee is conducting a separate inquiry into operations of Bank of Uganda.
Mr Abdu Katuntu (Bugweri County MP), who chairs Cosase, declined to speak about what transpired in the meeting and referred inquiries to State House.

“I cannot speak about the meeting in State House. Ask State House, ask the IGG, ask Bank of Uganda. Call the person who chaired the meeting. I can only talk about meetings by Cosase,” Mr Katuntu said.
The Auditor General, Mr John Muwanga, is expected to submit a report to Cosase, which will inform the proceedings of the inquiry into closure of commercial banks by the Central Bank and transfer of BoU senior staff.