Muniini K. Mulera
2 September 2002
opinion
Dear Tingasiga: We have now confirmed that Richard Kaijuka's resignation from the World Bank on Aug. 26 pre-emptied Uganda government's plan to withdraw him from Washington DC.
We have learnt from a most impeccable source at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Kampala that Finance Minister Gerald Ssendaula was in the process of withdrawing Kaijuka from Washington when the former Energy minister tendered his resignation to Cheikh Ibrahim Fall, the World Bank's Vice President and Corporate Secretary.
In a letter to Kaijuka (Ref. No. M/MFPED/16) dated Aug. 27, 2002, Ssendaula wrote:
"Further to my letter Ref: F/DEA-57 dated 20th August 2002, I have been informed that the IGG has not been able to obtain the necessary information to enable him to complete the investigation.
"Regrettably due to the seriousness of the allegation made against you in the press over time which you have so far failed to clear, you can neither effectively continue to represent Uganda, nor our constituency on the Board of the World Bank.
" I am therefore left with no option but to withdraw you as an Alternate Executive Director, as I hereby do and I have written to the Constituency Chairman to that effect."
Ssendaula's letter, a copy of which we have seen, was copied to the Right Honourable Prime Minister and to the Principal Private Secretary to H.E. the President.
Now Tingasiga, I do not know whether or not there is any truth to the allegation that Kaijuka was the recipient of a $10,000 bribe from a subsidiary of a Norwegian company that was interested in the development of a hydroelectric power project at Karuma Falls.
What I know is that an allegation is just that, an allegation, and anyone who believes in fairness and justice must presume Kaijuka to be innocent until proven otherwise.
Although strictly speaking, the time-honoured presumption of innocence is a legal concept that applies only in cases where criminal charges have been laid, it is a generally accepted principle in everyday life in all but those societies where mob justice has replaced fair judgement and due process.
The decision to sack Kaijuka on the basis of press allegations is the latest example of the Kampala regime's double standards.
Which senior person in the Museveni regime has not had an allegation of corruption or some other form of abuse of office?
How many people in the high circles of the Museveni government would survive the degree of scrutiny with which Kaijuka has been examined?
Has the president sacked anyone else because of the seriousness of the allegations made against them in the press?
Did he not re-appoint to his cabinet two ministers who had been censured by the parliament of the Republic of Uganda because of serious allegations of corruption and abuse of office?
What should we make of the persistent allegations in the press that have been levelled against the President's own family members and his close aides, including those who still stand accused by the United Nations of engaging in the plunder of the Democratic Republic of Congo?
Did the President not "forgive" his brother, Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh, after the latter had, by his own admission, accepted a little gift of $800,000 from some entrepreneurs who were peddling a pile of junk military helicopters from Belarus?
Has the President fired his ministers who were found by a court of law to have engaged in electoral fraud and other malpractices?
What, pray tell, has happened to those whom our courageous Lady Justice Julia Sebutinde has fingered as thieves and liars in her commissions of inquiry?
The excuse that Uganda's Inspector General of Government (IGG) has not been able to "obtain the necessary information to enable him to complete the investigation" is equally dishonest.
The IGG has interviewed Kagyezi, Kaijuka's son who, it is claimed by the father, was the legitimate owner of the $10,000 that was deposited on the old man's account in London.
Furthermore, sources at the World Bank have told us that it was Kaijuka himself who voluntarily furnished the Bank's Office of Business Ethics and Integrity with his banking records, including the account to which the $10,000 was credited in early 1999.
Does it not stand to reason then, that by co-operating with the World Bank's investigation into the allegation, Kaijuka probably had nothing to hide?
One assumes, of course, that the IGG, Jotham Tumwesigye, a man renowned for his meticulous and systematic methods of work, would have requested help and information from the World Bank, the US Justice Department, and the government authorities in the countries where the company that was allegedly involved in the bribe is based or operates.
Shouldn't the IGG's inability "to obtain the necessary information" have suggested that perhaps there was nothing to incriminate Kaijuka?
In any case why punish Kaijuka because the IGG has not found evidence to convict him?
No, Tingasiga, there is more than meets the eye in this whole saga.
It seems to me that Sendaula's letter, which was almost certainly authorised by the President, was a disingenuous attempt to justify an action that was motivated by factors and forces unrelated to the alleged bribe.
Sources in the Ssabagabe's court have told us that during Kaijuka's sojourn to Uganda in late July this year, a meeting was held at the State House, attended by the President, Attorney General Francis Ayume, IGG Jotham Tumwesigye and Kaijuka himself.
Curiously, Ssendaula was not present at this meeting.
Our sources have informed us that the four men agreed that even if the allegation of a $10,000 bribe had any merit, it had absolutely nothing to do with the Bujagali power project.
Furthermore, the President himself reportedly told the meeting that if indeed one was being maligned, "we must defend him to the hilt."
That was in late July 2002.
What is it that has happened in the space of one month that has led to such a fundamental change in attitude towards Richard Kaijuka's tenure at the World Bank?
What indeed has led to Kaijuka's fall? Was it the so far unproved allegation of a $10,000 bribe or was it a more complex issue?
I invite you, Tingasiga, and other fair minded people to set aside any pre-conceived notions about Kaijuka and let us examine this case fairly, with an eye on the broader implications of his fall.
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