By Andrew Irumba
Kampala: The Permanent Secretary to the Judiciary Experito Kagole Kivumbi is in hot soup after being accused by parliamentarians of allegedly falsifying documents he presented to the Public Accounts Committee.
This was the Committee’s opinion after legislators concluded that a medical form tabled by Kagole, after his failure to appear to answer audit queries on Tuesday, was full of manipulation. The forms were issued from Bugolobi Medical Centre but legislators contend that they contain a lot of inconsistencies.
He presented the form following a directive by the Committee to table evidence about his reported sickness under the watch of CID officers. However, contrary to his earlier statement to PAC that the medical records were at his home in Seguku, Kagole instead led the CID officers to Bugolobi Medical Centre from where the form was picked. Committee Chairperson Nathan Nandala Mafabi discharged a sub-committee to the facility to ascertain details of Kagole’s visit to the facility. The committee was led by Vice Chair Okin P.P Ojara.
On their return, Butemba County MP Pentagon Kamusiime reported that a review of the data base of Bugolobi Medical Centre for Tuesday July, 2 and Wednesday July 3, showed that Kagole’s medical data was entered shortly before the sub-committee arrived at the health facility.
Kamusiime noted that Kagole was not at the Medical Centre on Tuesday as he had reported to the committee. PAC Vice Chairperson Ojara also reported that Kagole had lied to the committee about his medical visit that reportedly stopped him from appearing before the committee on Tuesday. He however reported that data at the hospital indicated that Kagole is a client who has visited the hospital in the past for over 20 times.
Kagole’s problems started after a whistleblower petitioned PAC over suspected collusion to embezzle Shs34 billion from the Judiciary in form of various expenditures. The expenses were also queried by the Auditor General as money mischarged and Kagole has since then failed to show satisfactory accountability for the same.
Scrutiny of a detailed accountability document indicates that some of the funds had been wired to individual accounts of different Judiciary officers and Justices for reasons including office operational funds, payment of tuition, medical fees, among others.
However, according to Kagole, the money was spent on Court operational funds, mediation costs, Court sessions, imprest, locus visits, HIV medical allowances and expenditure for Monitoring and Evaluation since these items have no direct budget lines.
Although he was expected to give further explanation to the Committee on Wednesday, Kagole never appeared with reports from his lawyer indicating that he was indisposed to do so. But PAC has since tasked him to prepare all necessary documentation to show accountability for the missing Shs34 billion when he next appears before the Committee.
