KYANJO BASHES OTTO AS MENGO JOINS MIRUNDI TO DEFEND KASEKENDE

By Our Reporters

For ex-Makindye West MP Hussein Kyanjo, it’s time for gloves to come off in defense of BoU Deputy Governor Dr. Louis Kasekende whom he says has been targeted for destruction because of where he comes from. Speaking to CBS’ Med Nsereko, the influential veteran politician said he had come to the conclusion that those wanting to diminish Kasekende’s suitability to replace frail Emmanuel Mutebile as Governor have resorted to benefiting from Abdul Katuntu’s COSASE proceedings and utterances made by rubble rousing MPs like Odonga Otto to demonize Kasekende and convince the public the man from Masaka is unfit for the job. “When I talk about these things, they say I’m a bad person practicing sectarianism. I won’t be silenced because nothing is being done to those who practice it. The truth is Dr. Kasekende is an innocent man who is being destroyed using COSASE. He isn’t the Governor and neither is he is the Director bank supervision. He isn’t high or junior enough to directly be concerned with the closed commercial banks. He is far away detached from these things. Why do you implicate him in transactions that happened when he was away working for African Development bank? We all know that the President’s military approach to running public institutions is the problem and it has nothing to with Kasekende. We know how the President pushed Mutebile to release the reserves money to buy fighter jets even when we weren’t a country at war. Mutebile gave his professional advice and it was ignored. Was all that done by Kasekende? Why are they provoking us?” Kyanjo furiously said as Nsereko acquiesced along. Nsereko, an influential voice at Mengo, corroborated Kyanjo’s submissions regarding existence of a conspiracy against Kasekende by claiming he has been hearing credible reports that PSST Keith Muhakanizi is being prepared to become the next BoU Governor and to be replaced at the treasury as PSST by NSSF big man Richard Byarugaba. On 13^th December during the COSASE BoU inquiry proceedings, Aruu County MP Odonga Otto claimed Kasekende was complicit in the 2007 sale of collapsed banks’ loan portfolio to Nile River Acquisition Company yet at that time he wasn’t a BoU employee. He also accused him of being filthy rich evidence being ownership of more than 75 land titles, something Kasekende has since clarified in two letters of personal explanation to Speaker Kadaga. In his two letters dated 18^th and 19^th December, Kasekende says COSASE proceedings have curiously been used to target him for character assassination and defamation. He urges Kadaga to use her office to ensure he is protected against malicious allegations clearly aimed at injuring his reputation as a seasoned public servant. He produces details showing he doesn’t own the properties Aruu County MP alluded to. But Kyanjo said even if there existed 75 titles under his name that alone wouldn’t make Kasekende (who has worked since 1980) the inept dirty man COSASE proceedings have so far portrayed. “We all know things about land. If I had one acre, I can partition it into 13 plots of 50 by 50 size and get 13 land titles. Will that mean I’m filthy and very rich with unexplained riches? If you had four acres in Nakwero [near Gayaza] and not on Kampala road, you will end up with over 50 land titles. Why are they taking us for fools? Is Kasekende the only one owning so much? Why are they silent about people who own square miles and therefore capable of having many land titles cut into small plots? Is there proof that any of the Kasekende titles previously belonged to any of the closed banks?” wondered Kyanjo renowned for never being ashamed of what critics dismiss as tribal talk. Med Nsereko, who moderated the program in a way that clearly aimed at inciting Kyanjo to say more in that direction, weighed in saying: “When I saw what Odonga Otto was saying I went to my friend Sulait Semakula [Sema Properties proprietor] to deepen my understanding. He opened a room which was full of land titles and when I seemed shocked, he told me but those are partitioned from very few acres to have many small plots each with its own title.” Kyanjo said the economy was in problems not because Kasekende has been inept as Deputy Governor but “because that is how President Museveni works.” Kyanjo said Mutebile, Justin Bagyenda and Kasekende were all victims of being good people with proper intentions but serving under a wrong president. “These aren’t the only people whose professional career has been tainted because of the President’s militaristic approach to things. There was Frank Mwine who came from World Bank only to end up damaged in UCB where he served under Mr. Museveni. You won’t tell him sir this is the prudent way to do things in a financial institution. He is very militaristic in his approach and it’s all about ‘I have said give so much money to so and so.’ That is how many good people have been destroyed serving in a bad system and it’s wrong to single out Kasekende and destroy him as if there is anything he could single-handedly do in such a rotten system,” Kyanjo said. “Let’s be fair to everyone. Why would someone like Kasekende who has worked and served his country so loyally since 1980 not own something?”

VIEWS ON IPOD;

Kyanjo said whereas he gave up long time ago on ever talking to Museveni, he respects those who attended the recent IPOD Summit. “My colleagues in JEEMA reached out to me for my views as an elder and I told them good luck. Go and try but as for me I gave up after meeting him 5 times and he never respected any of the things we discussed and agreed upon. All this panic is aimed at isolating and neutralizing Bobi Wine. Someone must have advised the President you can use IPOD to avoid Bobi Wine because he isn’t covered under any party yet IPOD is for parties. The idea is being seen dialoguing with your opponents but in a process that renders Bobi Wine irrelevant,” Kyanjo said. “But it seems after Munyonyo, somebody advised him something was still missing and that’s why he again met Justice Ogoola and other elders in Entebbe still to sideline Bobi Wine. All that is deceptive dialogue. The real dialogue I will believe in should be funded by neutral actors like Mo Ibrahim [the Sudanese tycoon] whose Foundation has lots of money to finance processes leading to peaceful transfer of power on the continent [actually Mo has a standing offer/prize of $5m for every African leader that retires peacefully]. There must also be a neutral mediator and not people for whom Mr. Museveni buys cars and attend functions to be chief fundraiser at their churches. We need a person like [ex-Kenyan president] Arap Moi, [ex-Tanzanian President] Hassan Mwinyi or even [South African Bishop] Desmond Tutu. It doesn’t have to be a Muzungu because they will say that is imperialistic. We can use our eminent African elders to mediate.” Kyanjo said once those two conditions (funding and mediator) are sorted out in ways he is prescribing, he will not only become the chief spokesman promoting participation in the dialogue but will also personally participate once given chance. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.