By Mulengera Reporters
In their edition of 12th-18th February, the Observer newspaper carried a headline “Kiryowa, Goobi Names Appear in Plot to Arrest Accountant General Ssemakula.”
In there, it was indicated that the arrest and detention of Accountant General Lawrence Ssemakula had resulted from a conspiracy that aimed at getting rid of him as a senior civil servant. And that the duo of Kiwanuka Kiryowa and Ramathan Goobi etal were complicit in the same; whereas not.
However, as was predictable, Kiryowa hit the roof and proclaimed his innocence. He demanded that the country’s much respected weekly newspaper of record apologizes to him or else he sues them in civil defamation. The newspaper, ably led by Pius Katunzi, initially refused to back down and instead published an even more provocative notice asserting their right to report the way they did in public interest.
Kiryowa moved to file his suit but before he could go far, the newspaper backed down resulting into the unequivocal apology and total retraction they published Wednesday this week.
VERBATTIM:
It reads as follows: “We are issuing this unequivocal retraction and apology to Hon Kiryowa Kiwanuka, Senior Counsel and AG of the Republic of Uganda, regarding the article titled: “Kiryowa, Goobi Names Appear in Plot to Arrest Accountant General Ssemakula,” published in the Observer of 12th-18th February 2025.
Upon further and thorough scrutiny, we have found it untrue to have stated that Hon Kiryowa Kiwanuka was involved in an alleged “conspiracy to mudsling and punish the Accountant General, Lawrence Ssemakula, who, along with 8 other staff members from the Ministry of Finance, Planning & Economic Development, has been arrested and charged with certain offences in connection with the loss or theft of approximately $14.7m.”
In the same article, the Observer further alleged that Hon Kiryowa Kiwanuka was part of “a network of high profile persons in government who conspired against Ssemakula and were syndicated in dealing a bad blow to him at whatever time and cost.”
As a consequence of this publication, on 12th February 2025, Hon Kiryowa Kiwanuka wrote a letter referenced AG/Gen/69, demanding a “retraction of false and malicious allegations, and an apology.” In response, the Observer issued a “clarification” which was published in the newspaper and uploaded on its website (www.observer.ug) on 19th February 2025.
However, in this clarification, the Observer maintained that, as the chief legal advisor to Government, the Attorney General had provided legal guidance to government agencies, including the Ministry of Finance, where Ssemakula is employed.
After a careful review of the available documents, we have since verified that at no time was Hon Kiryowa Kiwanuka involved in any form of defamation or in orchestrating the arrest of Mr. Ssemakula and the other officials. Our misrepresentation stemmed from an unintentional human error, as we relied on what initially appeared to be authentic records.
However, there was no malice or intent to harm Hon Kiwanuka Kiryowa’s reputation. We sincerely regret any damage caused to the Attorney General. We hereby retract and apologize for the article published on 12th February 2025, which falsely alleged that the AG and other government officials were involved in a plot to have the AG dismissed, arrested and prosecuted for corruption.
This information was incorrect, and we have since verified that no such plot existed.
We commit to ensuring that any future articles related to this matter will be thoroughly verified before publication. This retraction and apology will also be published on the Observer website (www.observer.ug).
Moving forward, we shall cease to publish any articles related to this matter without prior verification from the AG.
In conclusion, the Observer wishes to assure the AG and the general public that our newspaper had no intention of damaging the reputation of Hon Kiryowa Kiwanuka or any other individual involved. As a responsible media entity, when we make mistakes, we take full responsibility by correcting them and offering an apology.
We believe that integrity and accountability are the pillars of responsible journalism. Offering a public apology is often a greater penalty than any other, as it compels us to confront our errors and uphold journalistic ethics. We deeply regret the harm caused and hope that our continued commitment to truth and transparency will allow us to maintain your trust and of our readers-Management. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
