MP’s resort to personal issues as police chiefs sway

By Our Writer
The much awaited appearance of the police chiefs to face the Committee on Defense and Internal Affairs committee which summoned the former to parliament over security concerns and other mishaps in the police institution was characterized by some MP’s bending on personal matters instead of taking the bull by its horns.

Whereas the police team led by the Inspector General Martin Ochola Okoth was spot on with its state of security affairs in the country indicating how is fast tracking the presidential directive to curb insecurity which includes making use of CCTV cameras among others, the honorable members fell sort of engaging police chiefs.

The Butatmbala county MP , Mr Muwanga Kivumbi took a lot of time asking police to enlighten the house on a police list on non police members who used to drive on police fuel in the days of former IGP, Gen Kale Kayihura.

Kivumbi even threatened to resign his shadow cabinet position if his name was among. The Media had been awash with some names of legislators with in the presidential and internal affairs committee as well as other politicians who had fed fat on police fuel causing the institution to choke on a fuel debt to the tune of over 100m.

Muwanga and some other MP’s chose to capitalize on having their names cleaned if possible instead of handling police chiefs who among others included the embattled police boss , Mr Godfrey Bangirana the Uganda Police Force’s Logistics and Engineering Department.

Bangirana is under IGG probe after a whistle borrower petitioned Mrs Irene Mulyagonja accusing the officer of depleting Uganda’s police institution resulting in to multibillion loss.

Last moths Bbangirana was summoned to face the Inspectorate of Government to explain the exorbitant cost at which a junk helicopter was repaired at a cost of Shs. 10bn, the procurement processes where police has now accumulated a debt of over Shs. 100bn it owes to different service providers and other flaws.

“He has superintended over gross procurement flaws that have not only affected the police force but also the various suppliers who have various contracts with the force,” a letter addressed to the IGG and dated 25th,August, 2018 read in part.

.It added “He endorses for payment only friendly companies or individuals. He is the man behind the fuel scam where he paid billions of shillings to Petrol Companies and had his proxies fetch police fuel but also sometimes going through back doors to pick physical cash from the fuel stations,” the IGG letter sent by a concerned citizen also read.

When contacted last week, the public relations officer in the IGG’s office , Ali Munira confirmed that Bangirana had been summoned.
She said that the officer had appeared and was still expected as investigations continue.
She however refused to divulge what had transpired saying we wait for report.

Initially the letter complained that most annoying was recently when he left out many supplier companies and individuals who demand billions of shillings from the police and decided to selectively approve payment of the sister of senior military General (names withheld).

This year, police launched an old chopper at Kajansi at a cost of Shs.10bn a figure which was highly contested.

Mr. Bangirana is also challenged to explain how police lost billions of Shillings of money to the public who were endorsed to consume police fuel for their private activities yet in some circumstances, police patrol vehicles did not have fuel.

There are also questions of at least 4000 guns that are said to have illegally ended at Kabalye Uganda Police training school. Justice Julia Ssebutinde in a Police Probe, pointed fingers at him and the concerned citizen who wrote to the IGG wants all this revisited.

“I think it is important you investigate the selective payment methods. You may also need to take a keen interest in the wealth accumulated by Mr. Bangirana. Has he declared it? Can he account for such wealth?” the IGG letter questioned.

His directorate is considered the most corrupt in the police force Questions about the cost of the construction of Nateete Police Station are also being raised where no official cost was pegged to the works but knowledgeable sources say it was billed at Shs. 100bn a cost which is highly contested.

The committee was therefore expected to have questioned the police institution too such unbelievable expenditures .
The new Mulago National Referral Hospital’s state of the art national maternal and neonatal referral centre that cost $34.14m (about sh91.5b) for example, how could Nateete new police structure equally shoot up to 100 bn.