By our reporter
Details have emerged on how former Director Supervision Bank of Uganda Justine Bagyenda snubbed Parliamentary appointments committee for vetting.
Bagyenda, being investigated for illicit money transfer, corruption and abuse of office by IGG,FIA and Auditor General was to appear before the vetting committee of parliament over her new appointment as a board member at the Financial Intelligence authority (FIA).
She was to appear alongside other four presidential nominees for vetting on September 17 2018 but did not show up and told her lawyer to tell parliament that she had traveled abroad.
However, according to Bagyenda’s phone call records that have leaked to social media, at the time the committee was waiting for her to appear before them for ‘roasting’, the money bugs was hiding at her home in Mbuya, a Kampala surbab eating her sausages as she followed all the proceedings by osmosis.
Records also have shown that on the vetting day, Bagyenda spent most of her day in Mbuya and at 10:25:34, she got an incoming phone call on 075222225…
Printouts from Airtel Telecom
Then, At 12:14:22 she received another phone call on the same number and at 16:20:19 she got another one incoming phone call on number 070467578.., and it was from there that she moved from her Mbuya place to Standard Chartered bank with her lawyer, also bank of Uganda lawyer Timothy Masembe of MMAKS advocates.
Although she claimed that she had traveled, her phone records from the telecom company has clearly contradicted her claims. To this, Parliament now may look at as total disrespect and lack of integrity to even hold such a sensitive office at FIA.
Ms Bagyenda’s re-appointment to the powerful Financial Intelligence Authority has continued to be a source of controversy after she was nominated by Finance Minister Matia Kasaija despite being under investigation over money laundering charges by the same authority.
While Ms Bagyenda wrote to the committee indicating she had traveled out of the country, it would appear she decided to snub the Committee chaired by Speaker Rebbeca Kadaga after it emerged that several people including MPs had petitioned the committee over her past record at both BoU and at FIA.
MPs under the African Parliamentary Network against corruption have since presented three petitions pushing for her re-appointment on the FIA board member to be rescinded or the line minister Matia Kasaija faces the wrath of the lawmakers.
Following March reports that Bagyenda had Shs19 billion on three different accounts, which sparked a public debate on how she accumulated such amount of money within six years, a whistle-blower petitioned the FIA, demanding that Ms Bagyenda be investigated. Whereas FIA executive director Sydney Asubo in March told journalists that the authority had opened inquiries into the matter, no report is yet to be produced.
It was reported that she had Shs19 Billion on three different accounts, which sparked a public debate on how she accumulated such amount of money within six years.
Barclays Bank Uganda and Diamond Trust Bank later apologized to her for exposing her accounts details in the media.
Leaked Mobile Money transactions from her MTN account showed Ms Bagyenda had transacted a whopping Shs499,428,906 million in three years.
MTN also apologised to Ms Bagyenda for the inconveniences and assured the public that “all confidential customer information is handled and protected with the highest duty of care and integrity.
