President Yoweri Museveni will today meet the NRM Parliamentary Caucus in a meeting expected to decide the fate of Security Minister Amama Mbabazi and Finance Minister Ezra Suruma.

The meeting, which will debate the two parliamentary investigation committee reports on the NSSF purchase of more than 400 acres of land at Temangalo, Wakiso from Mr Mbabazi and city businessman Amos Nzeyi, has been shifted from Parliament to State House, Entebbe, according to SMS messages sent to the ruling party MPs on Friday seen by Daily Monitor.

Caucus Treasurer David Bahati said yesterday that the meeting was in line with an earlier position by members that the final decision would be taken after the parliamentary investigation was concluded. "We are going to debate the matter and we shall take a unanimous party decision to defend on the floor of Parliament," the Ndorwa West MP told Daily Monitor by telephone. "There should be no cause for alarm."

The NRM Caucus meeting follows a two-month investigation by the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises into the transaction.

The main report from the investigation found both ministers culpable in their involvement in the Shs11 billion deal but a minority report, written by six MPs - all from NRM - on the 20-person committee, absolves Mr Mbabazi and Dr Suruma of any wrong-doing.

Mr Mbabazi is the Secretary General of the NRM and a key ally of President Museveni. Today's meeting comes after Cabinet, chaired by the President, met on Friday and agreed to back Mr Mbabazi, a position today's meeting is meant to sell to the rest of the party MPs.

President Museveni is also said to have met Buganda Caucus MPs on Saturday and asked them to help him save Mr Mbabazi. About 15 MPs led by their Caucus Chairperson, Ms Rose Namayanja attended the meeting at State House, Entebbe. Mr Museveni also told the MPs that the Cabinet position was that the party adopts the minority report.

The NRM has a comfortable majority in the House and if the Caucus follows Cabinet in backing Mr Mbabazi, debate of the two reports, which is expected to start tomorrow, will be a foregone conclusion in favour of the minister.

Ms Kabakumba Matsiko, the government Chief Whip, will chair today's meeting. The meeting will pit President Museveni, who is expected to address the MPs, against other senior party officials, including Local Government Minister Kahinda Otafiire and Rujumbura MP Jim Muhwezi who have openly called on Mr Mbabazi to resign over the controversy.

Some NRM MPs that Daily Monitor spoke to yesterday threatened to boycott the meeting on grounds that the transaction was not a party matter but one for which the minister ought to take personal responsibility. Others, however, said they would turn up.

Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo, the lead petitioner in bringing the matter to the NRM Caucus said: "We are prepared to attend. We shall expect the President to give us the answers that the culprits of the transaction have failed to give for the last two months."