The sacked former Executive Director of Supervision of commercial banks at Bank of Uganda Justine Bagyenda yesterday afternoon faced a scorching time as she was grilled by a tough-talking Inspector General of Government(IGG) Irene Mulyagonja over illicit accumulation of wealth and unexplained fat bank accounts.
Bagyenda used the cover of the basement parking to disguise from the prying eyes of the public and gain access to the IGG’s chambers on Jubilee House along Parliament Avenue where she was interrogated for the better part of the afternoon.
A source who saw Bagyenda leaving the IGG’s chambers at around 4:00pm say she was disheveled and fatigued following an afternoon of uncomfortable questions.
Bagyenda was asked to explain how she built condominium plans at Makerere Hill Road and Sunderland Avenue in Bugolobi and bought massive plots of land at Kimera Close and Balikudembe Road but she could not give definitive answers.
Bagyenda was also then asked to explain the source of a staggering wealth in several city banks that is said to be amounting to billions of shillings and millions of dollars that was found stashed on different accounts among the in Diamond Trust Bank and Barclays Bank. However sources at IGG say Bagyenda again could not furnish decisive evidence on the sources of the money.
The IGG also quizzed Bagyenda about a hard-hitting non-compliance report by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) that indicates that her tax accountabilities could be Shs7 billion. She faces separate charges of tax evasion.
IGG Mulyagonja confirmed to Eagle Online that Bagyenda was quizzed but declined giving details of the next course of action that the inquiry will take.
Bagyenda, whose contract at BoU was supposed to end June 2018, went on annual leave on January 22, but in a reshuffle announced by BoU Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, she was retired. In her place Mutebile appointed Dr Tumubweine Twinemanzi the new Director in charge of Supervision.
Bagyenda before returning to handover wrote to Prof. Mutebile protesting the manner in which she was laid off. In the letter, the sources said, Ms. Bagyenda told Prof. Mutebile she would return to BoU and continue with her work.
Early this month, we published a series of stories detailing the depths of Ms Bagyenda’s bank accounts she has with the bank, including one about how she has millions sitting on different accounts.
The stories prompted the banks mentioned in the leaked documents to investigate the source of information have reported apologized to Bagyenda confirming that the leaks are true. And the bank leadership claims, their staff were ‘compromised’ and actively participated in leaking account details of their client.
Bagyenda quizzed by IGG over unexplained wealth
