The Inspector General of Government(IGG),Beti Kamya is very unhappy with the chairperson of the Parliament Committee on Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises-Cosase ,Hon.Joel Ssenyonyi and also Nakawa West MP in Kampala for saying that she failed to appear before the Uganda Land Commission (ULC) probe because she had got a heart attack.
Speaking today at the Capital Gang, a political program on Capital Radio, Kamya said Ssenyonyi in his communication created the impression that she was so terrified of the probe that she developed a heart attack.
“The message was as if I’m so terrified to face Cosase that I had to fake an illness; it was as if I have taken UGX10 bn which really hurt me. But I want to tell the public that I did absolutely nothing wrong as a Minister of Lands and there is no reason for me to hide,” said Kamya.
On Thursday, Kamya was set to appear before Cosase as a witness in the investigation of queries raised in the Auditor General’s report of 2019/2020 which queried some accountabilities given by ULC.
As a former minister of Lands, Kamya was the political head of ULC which failed to satisfactorily account to close to UGX 10billion. Speaking today Kamya said indeed she was at parliament in the morning to attend a religious fellowship but felt unease arriving from a known medical condition she didn’t state which required her to see a doctor. She said she was only courteous to communicate to Ssenyonyi whose committee was waiting for her; that she was indisposed.
On the accusations for which she was required to appear before Cosase, Kamya said she has nothing to hide because all her actions were legal and that she is not the accounting officer to be held liable on financial impropriety.
Speaking to our reporter ,Ssenyonyi said he was surprised that Kamya would accuse him of ill motive for communicating to his members why a particular witness they were expecting would not turn up. “I have nothing personal against Kamya; I was simply doing my work to tell my members the communication I had got from a witness we were expecting.
We had invited her to the committee on Tuesday and she requested for an extension which was granted and all of this information I had to give it to the committee because it is the committee summoning her,” said Ssenyonyi.
He added that they will give her more time for her to appear before the committee. However, he was quick to add that when she appears, she must have medical reports to prove that indeed on that day she saw a doctor. “This is a public accounts issue which she must come and explain; otherwise, we might charge her of contempt of parliament. On that day she was around parliament so we must know that she was not dodging. But if it is true, she was sick, I don’t know why she would feel bad because anyone can fall sick,” said Ssenyonyi.
Asked whether they have scheduled another meeting with her, Ssenyonyi said they are waiting for fresh communication from her on the earliest opportunity.“We are expecting her to write to us to explain why she was away and also schedule that meeting because regardless of anything, she still has to meet before our committee and explain her role in the misappropriation of those billions of shillings.”