Capt. Mukula pulls a bag containing documents to the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala yesterday. His lawyers said the bulk of the Gavi money was returned to the Treasury, but some was given to the First Lady’s office. PHOTO BY ABUBAKAR LUBOWA
A poor Ugandan HIV patient
Mukula: I paid Gavi money to Janet team
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Mukula--I-paid-Gavi-money-to-Janet-team/-/688334/1619380/-/11f6wrqz/-/index.html
By ANTHONY WESAKA
Posted Wednesday, November 14 2012 at 02:00
In Summary
Former Health Minister tells court he gave the money he is accused of
embezzling to the First Lady’s Office.KAMPALA
Former State minister for Health Mike Mukula yesterday told the Anti-Corruption Court that First Lady Janet Kataha Museveni asked for and her office was given Shs54 million of the funds meant for the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (Gavi) programme in Uganda.
He said: “First, I deny. I did not steal Shs210 million from the Gavi account. My clear recollection is that on 14th January 2005, at Imperial Resort Hotel in Entebbe, in a meeting with the First Lady of the Republic of Uganda, Mama Janet Museveni, a verbal request was made to me in person to help her source funding for her activities in mobilisation in the country for the good health of children, mothers and others.”
Captain Mukula, who has been charged with stealing Shs210 million from the Gavi fund account, took to the dock in the fully packed court in the Kololo suburb, for the first time to defend himself against the allegations. He was led in his defence by his advocate, Mr Atenyi Tibejuka.
The Soroti Municipality MP, who is also the national vice-chairman of the ruling NRM in charge of eastern Uganda, said: “I did not see the money. I did not touch the money and I did not even smell the money.” He told the court presided over by Chief Magistrate Irene Akankwasa that he accepted the First Lady’s request before asking her to formalise it in writing.
“On the 31st of January 2005, a letter was forwarded to me signed by Madam Margaret Lalam, one of the senior private secretaries in the State House, actualising the formal request from Mama Janet Museveni, with an attachment enclosed of a follow-up of three proposed conferences,” he said.
After consulting with Major-General (rtd) Jim Muhwezi, who was then his boss in the Health ministry, he said, the money was processed and paid out.
The 56-year-old Mukula said three vouchers were prepared in different amounts --- Shs136,890,000 million, Shs73,146,000million, and Shs53,819,000 million, bringing the total to Shs263,855,000 million, which he signed.
He said only Shs54 million was disbursed to the office of the First Lady, and the remaining Shs210 million re-banked on the Gavi account held with the Bank of Uganda.
“I am aware that the Shs54 million was received and acknowledged by First Lady’s office and it was accounted for,” said Capt Mukula.
Asked by the public prosecutor, Mr Sydney Asubo, whether he tried to find out why the Shs210 million was re-banked, he said: “I did not find out.”
The second defence witness, Ms Lydia Nalwanga, who was an accounts assistant at the ministry in 2005, said she prepared the three vouchers and later disbursed the Shs54 million to the First Lady’s office. She then re-banked the Shs210m in the Gavi account at Bank of Uganda.
“We released Sh54m for the first conference organized by the office First Lady and the balance of Shs210m I personally re-banked.” Today, both the prosecution and the defence lawyers are expected to make their final oral submissions before the judgment is made.
Mike Mukula and Muhwezi
A Ugandan HIV infected child
Mukula: I did not catch or even smell Gavi cash
Tuesday, 13 November 2012 23:15
Soroti municipality MP and former minister of
state for Health, Capt George Michael Mukula, has told the anti-corruption
court that he did not receive money from the GAVI Fund as alleged.
Appearing before Chief Magistrate Irene
Akankwasa, Mukula said his role in the Global Alliance for Vaccines and
Immunization (GAVI) project was to offer policy guidance, direction and
political mobilisation.
“I did not receive the money, I did not catch the
money and I did not smell the money in question … and there was no loss
occasioned to government as alleged,” Mukula testified.
The state alleges that, while serving as minister
of state for Health (General Duties), Mukula requisitioned and signed for Shs
263.8m on behalf of the First Lady, Janet Museveni, which money was part of the
GAVI Fund. The first lady reportedly accounted for Shs 54m, leaving a balance
of Shs 210m, for which Mukula must account.
Up to Shs 1.6bn of GAVI money was allegedly
misappropriated and Mukula and the other health ministers at the time, Maj Gen
Jim Muhwezi and Dr. Alex Kamugisha, were held responsible. However, Muhwezi and
Kamugisha were recently acquitted after court found no evidence to implicate
them.
When the case resumed for Mukula to defend
himself yesterday, he revealed that he met the first lady at Imperial Resort
hotel in Entebbe
on January 14, 2005, whereupon she requested funding for three advocacy
conferences. Mukula told court that he accepted Ms Museveni’s request on
condition that she put her demand in writing, which was done on January 31,
2005 through one of her senior private secretaries, Margaret Lalamu.
The MP, who was accompanied by his wife, told
court that following the first lady’s formal request, he wrote an internal memo
on the matter to cabinet minister Muhwezi on February 11, 2005, who in turn
communicated to the Permanent Secretary, Muhammad Kezaala.
Mukula added that on February 16, 2005, Kezaala
asked the ministry’s Principal Accountant James Mukasa (now deceased) to
release Shs 204,039.000 to the first lady.
However, Mukula revealed that the money was
readjusted upwards to Shs 263,855,000 to be released in three vouchers.
“Those vouchers were brought to me in Munyonyo
where we had a cabinet retreat chaired by President Museveni by officials from
the accounts section led by Lydia Nalwanga and my personal assistant Rena
Birungi for me to sign and facilitate the movement of money as requested by the
first lady,” Mukula added.
Later, Mukula testified, he learnt that the money
would be given to Muhwezi by the then undersecretary Joram Mugumya. He said he
never had anything to do with the money from then on.
However, Mukula explained that he has come to
know that while the first lady’s office accounted for Shs 54m, the Shs 210m was
re-banked on the Gavi account No. 214.214013.1 in Bank of Uganda, meaning there
was no loss accasioned to the government. To prove his case, Mukula produced
certified banking slips and a treasurer general account form F12 and a banking
statement in court as evidence.
Second witness
After his time in the witness box, Lydia
Nalwanga, then an accounts assistant in the ministry of Health, came forward.
She told court that whereas Mukula requisitioned for Shs 263m, he never touched
the money as her boss directed that it be given to Muhwezi to pass it on to the
first ladies’ office.
“I took the money to Muhwezi who counted it and
refused to sign saying his junior [Mukula] had already signed. I took the money
back to the cashier’s office and whereas Shs 54m was given to the first ladies’
office and accounted for, I personally rebanked the Shs 210m in five
installments on the instructions of my bosses, undersecretary Mugumya and
principal accountant Mukasa,” Nalwanga testified.
However, there was drama as Nalwanga first denied
ever making a statement about the money at the Inspectorate of Government. In
that statement, she had claimed that it was Mukula who returned the money to
Bank of Uganda. Nalwanga later admitted making the statement after the
prosecutor, Sydney Asubo, produced a copy of the same dated June 6, 2006.
Asubo dismissed Nalwanga as a liar despite being
on oath. The case resumes today for final submissions from both sets of lawyers.
This week saw former health minister Mike Mukula taking to the dock to put
his spirited defence by denying to have ‘ever touched, seen or even smelt’ the
Shs210 million meant for the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation.
During the defence and the final submissions, pertinent issues came up.
State prosecutor Sydney Asubo, asked the court to convict Capt. Mukula, arguing that prosecution had adduced sufficient evidence to prove that he stole Shs210 million from Gavi account.
Mr Asubo argued that by posing a question of why only Shs54 million was disbursed to the office of the First Lady and Shs210 million and yet it was supposed to be also sent to the same destination before being kept in a safe and re-banked after eight months.
Mukula’s defence
In his defence, Capt. Mukula told the court that after a request was made to his office, three vouchers were prepared in amounts of Shs136,890,000, Shs73,146,000 and Shs53,819,000 totaling to Shs263,855,000, which he signed on to facilitate their movement. Capt. Mukula explained that since the money was in three different vouchers with different amounts, the disbursement process to the office of the First Lady was to be done on the basis of one to one not in lump sum.
He also explained that after disbursing Shs54 million to the office of the First Lady, the very office took long to account for the money before they could be advanced with funds for the second voucher to carry out their intended advocacy activities.
However, the state prosecutor Mr Asubo argues that Mukula’s motive of only disbursing the Shs54 million and keeping the Shs210 million for over eight months, before re-banking it, showed that he had intentions of stealing it, and that indeed he stole it.
Mr Asubo explained that Capt. Mukula, only returned the money after hearing of a looming investigation into the same by the Inspectorate of Government.
Captain Mukula said he sees a lot of political persecution in the case but was confident that the law would supersede the persecution.
Court has set January 18 next year when it will deliver its judgment. Should court find Capt. Mukula guilty of embezzlement, he stands to face up to 14 years in jail.
Behind the scenes of Mukula’s Gavi cash probe
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Behind-the-scenes-of-Mukula-s-Gavi-cash-probe/-/688334/1621944/-/12b1vbs/-/index.html
By ANTHONY WESAKA
Posted Saturday, November 17 2012 at 02:14
Posted Saturday, November 17 2012 at 02:14
During the defence and the final submissions, pertinent issues came up.
State prosecutor Sydney Asubo, asked the court to convict Capt. Mukula, arguing that prosecution had adduced sufficient evidence to prove that he stole Shs210 million from Gavi account.
Mr Asubo argued that by posing a question of why only Shs54 million was disbursed to the office of the First Lady and Shs210 million and yet it was supposed to be also sent to the same destination before being kept in a safe and re-banked after eight months.
Mukula’s defence
In his defence, Capt. Mukula told the court that after a request was made to his office, three vouchers were prepared in amounts of Shs136,890,000, Shs73,146,000 and Shs53,819,000 totaling to Shs263,855,000, which he signed on to facilitate their movement. Capt. Mukula explained that since the money was in three different vouchers with different amounts, the disbursement process to the office of the First Lady was to be done on the basis of one to one not in lump sum.
He also explained that after disbursing Shs54 million to the office of the First Lady, the very office took long to account for the money before they could be advanced with funds for the second voucher to carry out their intended advocacy activities.
However, the state prosecutor Mr Asubo argues that Mukula’s motive of only disbursing the Shs54 million and keeping the Shs210 million for over eight months, before re-banking it, showed that he had intentions of stealing it, and that indeed he stole it.
Mr Asubo explained that Capt. Mukula, only returned the money after hearing of a looming investigation into the same by the Inspectorate of Government.
Captain Mukula said he sees a lot of political persecution in the case but was confident that the law would supersede the persecution.
Court has set January 18 next year when it will deliver its judgment. Should court find Capt. Mukula guilty of embezzlement, he stands to face up to 14 years in jail.
