Prime
Jamwa sent back to jail until July 7
BACK TO COOLER: Mr Jamwa (R) heads to court in Kampala yesterday where his bail application was denied. PHOTO BY YUSUF MUZIRANSA
Already facing charges of abuse of office and causing financial loss, former National Social Security Fund boss David Chandi Jamwa was yesterday brought to Parliament a subdued man; gone was the self-assuredness and bravado that had marked his previous appearances before accountability committees.
Moments before his 10:30am arrival, he had appeared at the Anti-Corruption Court where Chief Magistrate Irene Akankwasa turned down his bail application and sent him back on remand until July 7.
Pending judgement
Ms Akankwasa said she could not pronounce herself because of the pending disposal of a matter in which Justice Paul Mugamba of the same court is yet to rule on whether a magistrate here can grant bail in a suit involving causing financial loss.
The family had waited as early as 8am. They had hoped that he would get bail even as a profusely sweating Mr Jamwa had attentively listened to Ms Akankwasa. His mother, Tezra, kept up a constant conversation with his lawyers and would have missed her son receiving a fresh handkerchief from his wife to wipe off the sweat after the first one was soaked. She would not, however, have missed seeing his face cloud over when bail was denied.
Subdued entrance
Mr Jamwa arrived at the court aboard a Luzira Prison bus, crowded as it usually is with common criminals, but was driven to Parliament aboard a white pick-up truck. Escorted by three prison warders with handcuffs at the ready, Mr Jamwa sauntered out of the Parliament lifts on the 4th floor of the North Wing, shoulders hunched.
His wife, eyes downcast, and another set of ladies, probably family members and his two lawyers, followed closely behind him. They were ushered into a room opposite one in which the committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises was preparing to take the testimony of Mr Jamwa’s former deputy at the Fund, Prof. Mondo Kagonyera.
Shortly, Mr Jamwa was led in to face the committee which is conducting a parallel investigation into financial misconduct at the NSSF. He sat next to Prof. Kagonyera facing Mr Reagan Okumu, the chairman of the committee. The former NSSF bigwigs never said anything to each other. Behind Mr Jamwa, space was created for one prison warder as the other two remained close to the entrance.
Mr Jamwa’s physical appearance yesterday and his soft-spoken manner was a deep contrast to the brash and booming man who had come to Parliament many times before he was suspended last year.
Mr Okumu invited him to only answer audit queries which were not captured in the charge sheet drawn by the Inspector General of Government, but which the KPMG report hints on, before his lawyer David Mpanga interjected.
“He is not in the right state of mind. Let him be excused so that he first deals with the matters of the Anti-Corruption Court,” Mr Mpanga said.
“We definitely have no objection but as a meeting, we thought we would benefit from his presence here,” Mr Okumu said.
Imbalanced mind
Mr Mpanga insisted that his client was not in the right shape to answer any queries.
Almost whispering, the large-bodied Mr Jamwa emphasised that his lawyers could have understated his state of health. “I have hypertension, my mind is imbalanced and I have missed my loved ones. One thing I beg is that at a time I am in a stable state of mind, I will offer the answers expected of me,” he said.
Amidst a loud silence, he asked Mr Okumu to guarantee him access to all the necessary official documents in NSSF that will enable him explain whatever queries await him.
The emotion of the moment went up when, in a manner of the Biblical Last Supper, Mr Jamwa then said: “I also want to request that you allow me have lunch with my family before I return to prison,” he said.
You could hear a pin drop. Some people in the room shed a tear. Others smiled tightly. The request was granted. The family, along with the prison warders and lawyers, were herded to another room where behind closed doors he had his meal. It lasted no more than 50 minutes before he was whisked off to Luzira Prison.
The drama over, Prof. Kagonyera later admitted that his time at the Fund was characterised by failure although he refused to accept personal liability for whatever happened.
The inability to have the Nsimbe Housing Estate project, failure to settle the Shs20b Alcon case and the delay to start on the multi-million dollar Lumumba Avenue NSSF headquarter project were some of the frustrations Prof. Kagonyera talked about.
Kagonyera on defensive
Prof. Kagonyera also dared any one at NSSF to fault him for any accountability issues. Some NSSF heads of department had told the committee early this week that Prof. Kagonyera and Mr Jamwa had been bad managers.
“I am so disappointed that so late in my life I find myself before such a committee of accountability. When I went to NSSF I thought I would use my experience to make a change,” he said.
According to the audit report being reviewed by this committee, Prof. Kagonyera took housing and salary advances three times in one year contrary to internal loan regulations.
The report also states that he received housing advances exceeding his gratuity and was later paid gratuity without the advances being recovered. For this, the professor said sorry, calling it an “oversight” but he also blamed his juniors for not advising him about internal policies.
“For a person not to advise you when he is supposed to advise you is throwing you in the wrong,” he said. According to the auditors, Human Resource Manager Hope Bizimana was in a position to give the necessary advice but she didn’t. While appearing last week, Ms Bizimana told the committee that she failed to block the advances for fear that it would be construed as insubordination.
Additional reporting by A.Wandera and A. Wesaka
