Uganda Police’s Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Crime Intelligence (CID) headed by Assistant Inspector General of Police, Grace Akullo, continues to quiz Bank of Uganda (BoU) and other officials in relation to the ongoing currency consignment scandal.
However, sources at CID say the BoU Deputy Governor Dr Louis Kasekende has told them he won’t appear before them for questioning on grounds that he was not involved in the saga and that he is above the level of the officials to be questioned as regards the matter.
“He has indicated to us that he is not supposed to appear, his juniors who were involved in the saga having appeared,” a source said, adding that the inquiry is likely as well to contact BoU Governor Prof Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, who said days ago that he called in State House’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) after detecting an anomaly in the consignment of the currency.
Despite Kasekende’s alleged plea that he won’t go to Kibuli for questioning by the CID, Akullo’s department is to ensure effective detection, investigation and prevention of crime in Uganda and it is the reason why it is working with ACU to dig deep into saga where BoU officials, some of them now behind bars, are said to have printed extra currency in Germany as they were sent to pick the Uganda Shilling notes.
Last Friday, two BoU officials were charged at Anti-Corruption court sitting at Kololo Kampala, on allegations of inclusion of unauthorised cargo on BoU chartered plane.
Francis Kakeeto, a branch manager at Mbale and Fred Wanyama were charged with abuse of office and in alternative corruption which they have both denied before magistrate Herbert Asiimwe.
Prosecution informed court that on April 26, 2019 between France, Belgium and Entebbe airport, the duo while on assignment by their employer to carry out a pre-shipment inspection of printed materials in France, in abuse of the authority to offices did an arbitrary act prejudicial to the interest of their employer and allowed the inclusion of unauthorised case on a cargo plane fully chartered by BoU.
And in the alternative, it’s alleged that they failed to refute and report the inclusion of unauthorised cargo on a plane fully chartered by BoU.
The development at BoU suggest there are factions within the central bank, one controlled by Kasekende and another controlled by Mutebile. However, Mutebile looks like he has lost direction and hold onto the mantle at BoU because the latest development indicate it is Kasekende in charge of operations of the central bank.
