Molly Kamukama, the Principal Private Secretary PPS to the President has today denied giving directives to the Lands Minister Betty Amongi to effect payments from the Land Fund.
Molly Kamukama, the Principal Private Secretary (PPS) to the President has today denied giving directives to the Lands Minister Betty Amongi to effect payments from the Land Fund.
Kamukama, 45, who has been President Yoweri Museveni's since 2016 appeared on Tuesday before the Commission of Inquiry into land matters chaired by Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereire at the National Archives Center.
Her appearance follows last week's testimony by Lands Minister Betty Amongi in which she alleged that some of the decisions for compensation to different people using funds from the Land Fund had been prompted by directives from President Yoweri Museveni. This was after the Commission grilled her on the irregular payments to people who did not qualify for payment from the Land Fund.
It is alleged that in 2016, Amongi directed Albert Jethro Mugumya, the Under Secretary Uganda Land Commission to effect payment of Millions of Shillings to different beneficiaries from the Land Fund contrary to her mandate.
Some of the documents before the Commission show that on November 23rd 2016, Amongi asked Mugumya to urgently pay out compensation of Shillings 620 million to nine people. Amongi also asked Mugumya in an October 31st, 2016 letter to pay special consideration to two patients.
In her letter, Amongi directed Mugumya to give Victoria Kakoko-Sebagereka an advance payment of Shillings 100 million as part of the Shillings 776.7 million claim on account that the recipient was very sick and needed treatment abroad. She also directed Mugumya to pay another Shillings 50 million of the Shillings 210 million claim to Kuriash Barinda of Isingiro district.
At the backdrop of these directives by Amongi, Ebert Byenkya, the Land Probe Lead Counsel cited some correspondences in regard to the Land Fund by Molly Kamukama and a category of presidential directives in Amongi's earlier testimony before the commission.
He asked Kamukama to explain the background of these alleged presidential directives for money to be paid out of the Land Fund.
But Kamukama said that she writes to all ministries and government departments on several matters and that her letters are just referrals of different petitions or issues raised by people to the Office of the President and not directives.
She said that directives from the President are always clearly stated out in the letters and that all her letters regarding the Land Fund have not been directives but sought to bring the attention of the Lands ministry to matters raised through petitions to the President's office for management by the ministry.
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Kamukama said that the Lands Ministry or Minister should have done their work according to the Land laws.
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Byenkya told Kamukama that her letters are interpreted by the Lands Ministry to carry an authority to pay and as a result, money has been paid out to different people irregularly citing a 13 billion Shillings payment to city lawyer Richard Bwezibera.
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Kamukama insisted that her letters have never been directives to the Lands Ministry to pay different people since the technical officers within the ministry are able to differentiate a directive from an appeal, instruction or a matter being brought to their attention for investigation.
Justice Bamugemereire also probed Kamukama more on her letters which have been interpreted as directives to effect payments.
