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Corruption: US, UK ambassadors warn of stern action
Foreign Affairs minister Gen Jeje Odongo (left), welcomes US Ambassador William W. Popp at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices yesterday. PHOTOS | COURTESY OF MOFA
What you need to know:
- Diplomatic sources indicated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pondering pronouncing on the matter publicly.
The US State Department announcement of punitive measures against Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, her husband Moses Magogo Hassim, and six other individuals came a few hours after back-to-back meetings between Foreign Affairs minister Gen Jeje Odongo and US and UK diplomats.
Highly placed diplomatic sources told the Monitor on Thursday evening that Gen Odongo first met the British High Commissioner Kate Airey for a closed door meeting, the second in a space of two days, as the two sides continue to haggle over ownership of Speaker Among’s alleged two-bedroomed flat in Stratford, East London.
Diplomatic sources indicated that the Ministry is pondering pronouncing on the matter publicly. This, sources indicated, is in light of President Museveni’s May 23 letter to Ms Among questioning her about the said house. The letter was copied to Gen Odongo and the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Beti Kamya.
Speaker Among has vehemently denied owning the said house, and in a statement posted on X on Wednesday evening, Ms Among said the UK government had the burden of presenting proprietary evidence that the said property is in her names.
Sources in the IGG’s office told this newspaper separately that the ombudsman has started looking into the matter quietly but was specifically waiting for guidance from the Attorney General’s office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The sanctions against the Speaker, the number three top Uganda citizen in the National Order of Precedence, first by the UK government on April 30 and later, the US government, continues to reverberate across government.
With the hoovering US/UK sanctions, diplomatic sources revealed, she is “likely” on the European Union (EU) watch-list as well.
Foreign Affairs minister Gen Jeje Odongo (right) with British High Commissioner Kate Airey yesterday.
Gen Odongo later met the US ambassador William Popp during which he was notified of the oncoming punitive measures by the State Department. The US Department announced the sanctions a few hours later after the meeting.
Gen Odongo, sources further revealed, was notified of looming sanctions—a repertoire of travel ban and asset freeze—against more individuals.
The US embassy public affairs counsellor, Ms Ellen Masi declined to be drawn into the conversation last evening saying: “We do not discuss the details of private diplomatic engagements.”
In both meetings, diplomatic sources revealed, the UK and US envoys underlined that the sanctions are not targeted against the government but rather individuals who engage in abuse of office and human rights violations. The diplomats also warned of consequences if the government attempts to aid the targeted individuals circumnavigate the sanctions.
By press time last evening, Gen Odongo and senior officials in the ministry remained boxed in a spot of bother on how to respond publicly. Gen Odongo, the Permanent Secretary Vincent Bagiire, and the State Minister for International Relations Okello Oryem were all, unusually, not available for comment.
The US gives Uganda nearly $1 billion dollars each year, mainly for health and security support. In return, Uganda does security leg work in the region, more significantly fighting al-Shabaab in Somalia, and playing its diplomatic power favourably at international fora. The UK, too, remains a strong bilateral partner.
