Uganda: Probe MPs - You Have Shamed Parliament
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The Monitor (Kampala)
EDITORIAL
10 October 2008
Posted to the web 10 October 2008
Scandal begets scandal. That's the summary description of the Tuesday meeting between Security Minister Mbabazi and the NRM members on the parliamentary committee investigating him over the NSSF Temangalo land saga.
Twelve of the 15 members on the committee met Mbabazi in the office of the NRM Chief Whip where he reportedly told them that when writing their report, they should ensure their Opposition counterparts on the probe do not take advantage to damage the NRM image.
He also reportedly told them that they should hold that the Temangalo land deal was an investment, not a procurement. He also reportedly told them to question why the National Environment Management Authority did not declare his land a wetland until it became a matter of investigation after he had sold it.
The sale of Temangalo land to NSSF is already scandalous enough on the strength of what has been exposed so far. But the MPs investigating the controversy to allow themselves to meet one of the principal suspects under the investigation, makes it a double scandal. The MPs have put themselves to shame.
Kajara MP Steven Tashobya's claim that the meeting has no implication because Mbabazi was consulting them like any other interested party was doing elsewhere, is devoid of substance. Even assuming Mbabazi was consulting, would it be right to consult his investigators on their likely findings? Absolutely No. In fact Mbabazi was not consulting them, he was briefing them on what to write in their report and how to write it.
He asked them to question why Nema had not declared his land a wetland before he sold it; he told them to find that the sale was an investment, not a procurement. Isn't this telling them what their findings and recommendations about him should be? Basically, he was writing the report for them.
If it was mere consulting, and not influencing the findings of the investigation, why didn't Mbabazi consult the whole committee? And if he was consulting them as party members, as Tashobya claims, why didn't he meet the whole NRM Parliamentary Caucus? Are the 12 MPs on the committee the only NRM party members?
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This has further dented the image of the party the members are purportedly trying to salvage. By meeting at the NRM Chief Whip's office with Mbabazi, it now appears the party is on Mbabazi's side. But whichever way, the meeting has ruined the credibility of the committee, its investigations and the ultimate report.
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Copyright © 2008 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
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