Mps probing a case of financial loss and corruption at the Uganda Airlines claim they have received life threatening calls.
Members of Parliament on the Parliamentary Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises – COSASE are investigating the airlines for corruption and financial loss in billions of shillings.
Preliminary findings of the Committee indicate that the Airlines Chief Executive Officer – CEO, Jenifer Bamuturaki, and other senior officers lack integrity and prerequisite academic qualifications to manage the national flagship and cargo carrier.
While questioning Uganda Airlines officials, the Committee discovered that the Board unlawfully endorsed the appointment of Bamuturaki by President Yoweri Museveni in July 2022, disregarding a competitive process for the selection of the ideal CEO through a consultancy firm, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, which was irregularly terminated.
The Committee also discovered that prior to her presidential appointment as CEO, Bamuturaki, as the Commercial Director, and doubling as the Contracts Manager connived with the former CEO Ephraim Kalyebara Bagenda to exclusively solicit for Abbavater Group Limited to undertake public relations work for the Airlines without competitive bidding process.
This led to the award of USD 540,000 (about 2.067 billion Shillings) service contract to the Abbavater Group which without following the procedures of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets – PPDA Act of 2003.
Both Bamuturaki and Kalyebara were handed to the CID on Thursday as investigations have been launched into the matter.
Now, three MPs on the committee( names withheld), claim they have already received anonymous phone calls threatening their lives for digging deeper.
tThe Committee Chairman Joel Senyonyi has confirmed the threats, but says they are not about to back off from a matter causing the Government huge losses. Adding that their lives are in God’s hand for divine protection.
“Even when you have police guarding you,we have heard people still being gunned down even with protection.But the job we do is a difficult one and when we are exposing all this rot, there are those who will want to hurt you.People call and say go slow on this matter or dont dig deep, but we have a job to do.”