Veteran political journalist and also the Jinja city Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi has pleaded with president Museveni to shield Uganda Human Rights Commissioner chairperson Mariam Wangadya from people he branded as mafias.
Musaazi claims that the ongoing fights between Wangadya and a section of the Commissioners at the Commission is a result of an operation which Wangadya spear headed under the supervision of the President to expose corruption at parliament.
“When she was asked for a bribe, she took a strong stand to report the legislators to the President who gave her recording gadgets which she used to execute her boss’ mission. The legislators were exposed and their political career was badly damaged, I’m very sure that they are the ones currently fighting back as a way of revenging on Wangadya,” Musaazi said.
He added that sacrificing Wangadya will scare away other National Resistance Movement (NRM) cadres who wish to join the President in implementinf the promise he made to Ugandans after taking oath at Kololo independence grounds that he is going to intensify the fight on corruption.
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The development comes weeks after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Lino Anguzu withdrew budget corruption charges against Cissy Namujju the Lwengo district woman Member of Parliament, former Bunyole East legislator Yusuf Mutembuli, Busiki County legislator Paul Akamba
By the time of withdrawing the charges, witnesses had already testified before the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court among them including Wangadya who pined them publicly.
Namujju, is a blue-eyed girl to embattled former Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among. The former speaker who was very instrumental in convincing Museveni to direct the withdrawal of the charges against the accused persons after pleading for their mercy publicly.
“That woman (Wangadya) damaged my name, gave false evidence on me, which led me into prison. My God is not asleep, he will revenge on my behalf, she will pay heavily,” Namujju was heard swearing to revenge.
Namujju was joined by three Commissioners of Uganda Human Rights Commissions who have gone on record to declare war against their boss Wangadya after accusing her of being corrupt.
In a turn of events, Wangadya also gave an interview highlighting how she has been facing a lot of difficulty in executing her work because of some of the commissioners.
She disclosed that these people are being funded by a section of legislators who she reported to the President over corruption.
Wangadya revealed how she received pointers of a difficult tenure at the commencement of her term of office in 2021, but she has been soldiering on until it became unbearable in the past six months of this year.
“The day I went to parliament for vetting as a nominee for this position as the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, I was escorted out by two honourable Members of Parliament. One of them told me, ‘My dear, you are in very big trouble. One of the Members you are to work with will do everything to hurt you and fail you in your work. You will be scandalised, bullied, and disrespected on a daily basis. You will be destroyed’. Sadly, this has come to pass” she said.
She revealed that on her first physical contact with the said member of the Commission, they made their intentions clears the Commissioner told her that it was because of their efforts that the former Bulambuli woman MP Irene Muloni was ousted from cabinet through a report they authored on her which was submitted to the President and within weeks, Muloni ceased to be energy minister.
“I had never in my work experience gone through anything like this. This Commissioner constantly reminded me that there were eight files against me at the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) and Chieftaincy Military Intelligence (CIM). I kept calm knowing that I am clean. My conduct or loyalty to my country had never been under scrutiny since I joined Government service in 1996. I was constantly reminded that I was an outsider, simply because I was not born in Western Uganda and that I would not last the six years as Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission,” Wangadya bewailed.
She revealed that these members have been sponsoring news stories claiming that she is under investigation which she categorically dismissed as a smear campaign orchestrated by these three members of the Commission backed by the corrupt legislators whom she reported to the President for soliciting bribes from her.
She added that the said legislators have used members of the Commission who include: Col Steven Mwesige Basaliza, Jacklet Atuhaire Rwabukurukuru and former Kasanda South legislator Simeo Muwanga Nsubuga to intimidate and scandalise her.
“This vendetta has a strong funder behind it. On their own, these members of the Commission would not have been able to mobilise this scale of media abuse directed at me daily. One of the legislators I testified against in court is heavily backing this assault on me. This person is aided by mainly a certain media house whose attitude is heavily laced with ethnic hatred. Though His Excellency the President magnanimously forgave those MPs, which I welcomed, on their part, they have never “forgiven me”. I say forgiven in inverted commas because I don’t believe I did anything wrong,” she said.
“They think I was unfair to them. They are determined to do anything to me and my family. At this juncture I wish to appeal to the Director of Public Prosecutions. I was the complainant in that case. I know the law gives you the authority to close prosecution without any explanation. You have no legal obligation to explain to me why you closed that prosecution. I had testified in court. I was ready to be cross examined. You closed that case. I wish to appeal to you to reopen that prosecution so that my truthfulness or lies can be tested on cross examination. If indeed what I said to the President or police are lies, I am ready to be cross examined,” she said.
She revealed that if the DPP cannot reopen the case, then he should allow her to present the audio recording to the court of public opinion so that everyone can know the cause of the ongoing hatred and vitriol against her.
She further sent a message to president Museveni about the appointment of the leadership of the Uganda Human Rights Commission indicating that the Commission holds the widest mandate of promoting and protecting the Rights of Ugandans in the Bill of Rights.
This means that the Commission should not only be adequately resourced but also left in charge of credible and competent individuals as per the law, noting however, with dissatisfaction, that some of the appointed members of the Commission are not as credible as the office demands.
“The mandate of the Uganda Human Rights Commission is very clear in the Constitution. Chapter 4, the largest chapter, the Bill of Rights. Article 51 says that the Chairperson and Members shall be people of high moral standard and proven integrity. How I wish the authority had taken these constitutional provisions seriously.”
Wangadya informed the media that she has been a public servant for 30 years with 8 years as Deputy Inspector General of Government (IGG) and Acting IGG during which she has maintained a credible record, turning down bribes from prominent individuals and upholding the principle of integrity.
“You have no idea, the huge chunks of money I rejected as Deputy IGG to kill prosecutions, end prosecutions, drop appeals or lift interdictions. How much money powerful politicians offered me to commence investigations and prosecutions against their potential competitors so as to take them out of the race. If I was the corrupt person which CBS talks about every day, which the Observer writes about every day, I would be very rich. I wouldn’t have to steal non-existent money at the Uganda Human Rights Commission,” she said.
She remarked that the Commission has a limited budget and that even if she was a thief, there is nothing there to steal.
“Even if I was a thief, which I am not, there is no money to steal at the Uganda Human Rights Commission. I want to remind you and the country that I was Deputy IGG for eight years starting August 2013-August 2021. For half a year during that tenure, I was the acting IGG. If I was the kind of person that your media houses have depicted me to be, I would be a very wealthy woman today.”
The Chairperson urged the media to remain professional and factual and urged them to verify these allegations of investigations with the office of the IGG to get clarity noting that having served in that very office, she knows its processes.
