Outgoing Deputy Governor of Bank of Uganda Louis Kasekende had a hard time on Friday as he exited his office for BoU at the end of his contract came to an end.
According to sources at BoU, after cleaning his office of any personal belongings, Dr. Kasekende called one of his body guards and handed him a bag containing ‘personal’ documents but what was termed as personal documents were two critical files relating to some undertakings involving BoU and one of the files relates to the Office of Prime Minister (OPM) which saw the former Principal Accountant, Godfrey Kazinda imprisoned.
BoU and Ministry of Finance were heavily implicated in that scam. The second file is reported to be involving a scam to do with compensation in which BoU was put on spotlight.
However, as the body guard walked out on the second floor of the building, security asked him to search the luggage which he surrendered. As the opened, the bag, the VVIP police detectives landed on the documents hence retaining the officer before calling the director security.
As the scuff ensued, Kaseknde’s guard alerted his boss about the incident to which he responded fast and asked why his bag had been opened, the director security interjected and informed him about the security details of the bank.
However, it is said Kasekende couldn’t take any of the directives as he demanded that the two files taken away from him be returned. “He shouted at director in charge of security as if he is child as other staffers looked on but we realized he was annoyed that his contract hadn’t been renewed nor extended”. The source said.
According, security replayed CCTV cameras from the point when Kasekende gave the body guard the luggage up to the security point at exit which showed that the files had been inserted into bag by Dr. Kasekende himself. Security retained the two files before they handed over the other documents to his guard to proceed his way out of the bank.
Kasekende bitter with Joyce Okello
Executive Director/Executive Assistant to the Governor Bank of Uganda Ms Joyce Okello, wife to State Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of International Relations, Okello Oryem is one such person Kasekende will never forget in his life. Sources at BoU reveal that Kasekende blames all his trouble of not being granted an extension/ renewal to Ms. Okello to whom it is claimed pushed hard to make sure he doesn’t remain at BoU. Sources further say that Kasekende alleges that Ms Okello fought out in order to be appointed as his replacement.
Sources further reveal that at one time a fight almost broke out when a clique of senior staff who are pro Kasekende and another which is pro Mutebile/ Okello. The pro Kasekende clique that had some elements of disgruntled staff who were aligned to former Executive Director in charge of Supervision Justice Bagyenda wanted to rough up Ms Okello claiming she is responsible for misguiding the governor and sideline Kasekende from getting information from his boss.
Kasekende tried without any success to have his contract renewed or extended. He first sent former Minister of Finance, Gerald Ssendaula and other clerics to meet President Yoweri Museveni at his country home in Rwakitura with a view of requesting him to extend it. Subsequently he turned to Mr. Keith Muhakanizi, the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Minister Matia Kasaija persuading them to prevail upon President Museveni to have his contract renewed but the two didn’t do much as they feared it would backfire.
However, with no response, Kasekende shifted his lobbying to a top Catholic prelate in Kampala but the presidency handlers refused to enlist him with Kasekende for a meeting because their agenda wasn’t clear. Towards the second week of January, he allegedly tried the Vice Presidency but it did not yield fruits before he was crafted by two city lawyers to have him meet the Kabaka of Buganda so as to use the royal family lobby for him but his contract came to an end before any of the schemes could yield fruits for him.
