Kampala, Uganda — Police are investigating reports that Trade Ministry Permanent Secretary, Geraldine Ssali assaulted the Ministry's legal officer, Sandra Anena Karen last week.
Anena has since dragged Ssali to Kampala Central Police Station for slapping her in the incident that reportedly occurred on April 5, 2024 at the third floor of the Ministry's offices at Farmers' House in Kampala. Several staff who witnessed the scandal, have also since recorded statements to the police.
"Yes, it is true, we are investigating this matter," said Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango on Monday.
Following the incident, Ssali has interdicted Anena, accusing her of "gross unbecoming behaviour such as using abusive language against me, assaulting, threatening me, throwing items at me and insubordination which is irregular for a public officer of your calibre."
It all started on April 4, with the head of Human Resource, Lydia Aliwonya, informing Anena that the legal department needed to move to create space for the new State Minister of Trade, General Wilson Mbadi.
Anena told Aliwonya that she would temporarily move to join Julius Kasirye whose office had some space .
Aliwonya didn't object.
The following morning of April, 5, Anena had several meetings with the ministers before shifting to Kasirye's office.
Later, Anena approached the painters who were placing Mbadi's furniture in the corridor and asked them to use her office instead.
Anena claimed in her report to police that as soon as she occupied the new office, a visibly furious Ssali, who was followed closely by her armed male bodyguard, stormed the office ordering the senior lawyer to vacate it in the next one hour because she (Ssali) needed the office.
As Anena was preparing to leave, the charged up Ssali reportedly started screaming at her, asking why she was not answering.
"It's at that point when the lawyer told Ssali that she had heard her orders and was moving out. Immediately, Ssali told her bodyguard to throw the lawyer out. The armed man pounced on the lawyer roughly and dragged her towards the corridor. It's at this point that Ssali hit the lawyer and started to throw out books, files and even a flask that actually belonged to another officer."
It was then that the bodyguards of the new minister intervened to actually save Aneno from the manhandling by the armed bodyguard. Anena was taken to a small room and counselled to calm down.
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Officials say Anena's woes started during the Parliamentary probe into alleged financial misappropriation of supplementary funds to the for the financial year 2021/22.
During the hearing, the Committee established that Shs 8bn for rent of new office premises was instead utilised for renovation of office premises for the Ministry at Farmer's House as opposed to the purpose for which the same Ministry had requested for the supplementary.
The House committee also discovered that the draft contract for renovation works at Farmer's House was witnessed by Mutegeki David (Legal Officer).
The Committee was astounded that there actually exists a head of Legal Services at MTIC, Sandra Anena who submitted to the Committee that the PS prefers the services of Mutegeki David, an officer.
This was evident during the hearings where Mutegeki always interjected on issues that seemed alien to him.
In October, 2023, the Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, suspended Ssali as the Ministry's accounting officer on the recommendations of a Parliament inquiry into alleged acts of corruption at the Ministry.
Parliament had accused Ssali of failing to control the regularity and proper use of money appropriated to the vote for procurement of renovation works on offices used by the Ministry at Farmer's House.
The House's Trade Committee also accused Ssali of inflating the price of renovation works by Shs2 billion.
However, President Museveni ordered the reinstatement of Ssali as the Accounting Officer of the Ministry of Trade.
