By Our Reporters
Fresh shocking details have emerged (following up on our Tuesday story) showing the extent to which Bulamogi County MP Kenneth Lubogo’s complicated character has hampered performance of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade Tourism and Industry (TTI). The Bulamogi MP stands accused of fermenting intrigue clearly aimed at sabotaging and frustrating current TTI Chairman Alex Ruhunda (Fort Portal Municipality) who took over from him. In July/August last year, Ruhunda was chosen by Government Chief Whip (GCW) Ruth Nankabirwa and the NRM Caucus leadership after concerns were raised disputing Lubogo’s neutrality in the face of the sugar bill. He was perceived as incapable of being impartial on matters regarding sugar as long as matters to be adjudicated upon concerned Madhvanis (Kakira). He was subsequently removed and the chair was prized to Alex Ruhunda who members consider to have done a good job so far notwithstanding Lubogo’s intrigue of trying to portray him as a failure.
LATEST INTRIGUE;
Sometime in February this year, the TTI members began investigations into the alleged impropriety in the procurement of private companies UNBS contracted to carry out pre-shipment inspection on all Japan used vehicles coming to Uganda. This is done under PVoC. The TTI committee investigations resulted from a petition by Lubogo claiming that companies like JEVIC were acting improperly to the detriment of UNBS and the entire people of Uganda by clearing vehicles that don’t meet minimum quality requirements and are therefore unfit for exportation to Uganda. Lubogo, who colleagues perceive as comfortable with EAA, accused Alex Ruhunda of having a soft spot for JEVIC. The inquiry started and public hearings were conducted. After public hearings, it was decided the committee had to travel to Dubai and Japan to verify utterances the three PVoC firms made in their prior presentations. Meetings began to plan and agree on the 10 MPs that would travel for the Dubai and Japan fact-finding mission. In one of the meetings, members reflected on the list of the 10 that had been agreed upon in consultation with the UNBS and the companies the MPs were travelling to Dubai and Japan to inspect. On the list was the name of Habit Katoto whose inclusion Lubogo was very uncomfortable with. Polite explanations that it was prudent to have him on the delegation because of his vast experience in the used vehicles importation to Uganda didn’t mean anything to Lubogo. He reacted by rebuking the Chairperson Ruhunda for not being transparent. Notwithstanding wars some male committee members have been having with their committee clerk, who is said to be a very indifferent bossy lady, it was considered important that this issue is urgently resolved to enable the visa processing to commence. However, time was lost because of Lubogo’s belligerent approach towards the Chairman. In one of the in-house TTI trip preparation committee meetings, Lubogo accused Ruhunda of being the JEVIC mole and divisively claimed this information had been given to him by Hon Steven Mayende Dede, another outspoken non compromising committee member. The idea was to antagonize the Chairman with Dede. Lubogo claimed that the chairman had been seen at Fairway hotel being compromised by JEVIC agents. This didn’t go down well with other committee members who felt Lubogo (famous for calling himself Born Again) was taking his hatred for the chairman too far. Members tasked him to produce proof and reacted by leaving the meeting.
REPORTS TO KADAGA;
In the subsequent days, Lubogo petitioned the Speaker challenging his successor Ruhunda’s suitability to chair the TTI committee. He gave his reasons which unfortunately were rejected by the Speaker and GCW Ruth Nankabirwa to whom the letter was copied. Ironically no copy was given to Ruhunda who the Speaker eventually found didn’t have to defend himself. Lubogo grew angrier as TTI members were to discover during a subsequent in-house committee meeting Ruhunda convened to agree on the Dubai/Japan delegation. In that meeting, Lubogo insisted there was no need to co-opt Katoto and called the chairman a hypocrite. He was specifically bitter that the manner in which Katoto was added onto the list wasn’t transparent. The chairman was badly abused and the meeting ended in chaos because of Lubogo’s insistence on what he called transparency. Upon reflecting on the day’s events, Ruhunda the next morning rang colleagues and convinced them to have Lubogo on the delegation going to Dubai even when some members were apprehensive on grounds that this was clear conflict of interest that would be used to impeach the credibility of whatever report the committee will produce. Why? Lubogo was the petitioner and travelling to Dubai/Japan was likened to being the prosecutor and judge in one’s own cause. Having tried reconciliation and failing to achieve any, some TTI members have now concluded that its high time both Ruhunda and Lubogo are removed and transferred to some other separate committees because their differences have become too deepened. In fact some TTI members have already reached out to Nankabirwa urging her to use the Speaker’s meeting tomorrow Thursday with all the different Committee chairpersons to find a lasting solution to the turmoil in TTI. “We are saying the GCW should remove either Lubogo, the Chairman Ruhunda or both of them otherwise the polarisis is becoming too much,” said a distraught committee member. Gratefully being a sessional committee which one chairs for one year, members are optimistic the GCW will do the needful in July when time comes to get new committee leadership. Some are hopeful that the coming on board of mature and fair-minded legislators like newly re-elected Jinja Municipality legislator Paul Mwiru will gradually return sanity to the now messed up TTI committee. For comments, call/text/whatsapp us on 0703164755!
