Suspended RCC Burora ignored caution 4 times, says Office of President

The Secretary in the Office of the President has said he issued four warnings to the Deputy Resident City Commissioner (RCC) of Rubaga Division before suspending him. 

Mr Yunus Kakande, who signed the letter suspending Mr Anderson Burora, said the RCC had contravened sections of the Uganda Public Service Standing Orders, 2021. 

Mr Kakande appeared before the Parliament’s House committee on Presidential Affairs. The committee, chaired by Ms Jessica Ababiku, was reviewing the Ministerial Policy Statement of the Office of the President. 

The MPs expressed concerns over reported cases of ‘misconduct’ of Resident District Commissioners (RDCs). 

Mr Dennis Onekalit, the Kitgum Municipality MP, asked Mr Kakande what steps he had taken against Mr Burora, who is said to have used his social media account to criticise Speaker of Parliament Anita Among over alleged mismanagement of the 11th Parliament. 

“I want to inquire [about] the fate of the RCC of Rubaga. What has so far been done to RCC who uttered derogatory words against Parliament? What has the Presidency done about that RCC? Was it only suspension?” Mr Onekalit asked. 

Mr Kakande said whereas there are pockets of RDCS and RCCs with questionable conduct, his office has consistently taken action on the cases reported. 

“We have got the deputy RCC who was undermining the Parliament and going particular on the Speaker. I called that [deputy] RCC, four times to my office and advised him to desist from going to the press because our regulations in the Public Service Standing Orders don’t allow them [to do that] unless I have given them special permission,” Mr Kakande told the MPs. 

“I advised him [but] he refused, so I suspended him and I am going to take him to the sanctions committee and then we will interdict him,” he said. 

“Every financial year, we hold five workshops for skilling these people. We invite many other people who speak to them” Mr Kakande said. 

“So, under capacity building, we have done more than we can and I don’t think there is any gap. We are continuing and about two weeks ago, we had training for all RDCs and Deputy RDCs in the Lango sub-region,” he added. 

Mr Kakande said the RDCs receive a monthly allowance of Shs3m while their deputies get Shs2.5m to ease their work. 

On Monday, Mr Burora handed over office to Ms Doreen Keita, the deputy RCC for the Central Division in Kampala. He, however, insisted he would not relent on the fight against corruption.