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Police search detained MPs’ homes
Combo: MP Mudimi Wamakuyu and MP Michael Mawanda
What you need to know:
Mr Michael Mawanda (Igara East) and Mr Mudimi Wamakuyu (Elgon County) were detained at different police stations on Wednesday
The police yesterday searched the homes of two Members of Parliament (MPs), who were detained in connection to the embezzlement of part of the Shs164 billion meant for the compensation of cooperative societies.
Mr Michael Mawanda (Igara East) and Mr Mudimi Wamakuyu (Elgon County) were detained at different police stations on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the two were separately driven to their respective homes where the police were seen carrying out suspected exhibits.
Both MPs were later driven back to the respective police stations where they were previously detained.
The search is often the last process before the suspects are produced in court.
Police are investigating corruption, theft and conspiracy to defraud.
The Shs164 billion was given to the cooperative societies by the government to compensate them for the loss of funds and property or business in wars between 1979 and 2006 which led to the collapse of some.
The funds were sent between Financial Years 2011/2012 and 2022/2023.
Mr Mawanda is the director of mobilisation for the Patriotic League of Uganda, a pressure group led by Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Commander of Defence Forces, a senior presidential advisor for special operations, and the first son.
Reaction
When contacted yesterday, the Secretary General of Patriotic League of Uganda, Mr David Kabanda (Kasambya County), welcomed the investigations, saying PLU does not condone corruption.
Mr Kabanda, however, urged the police not to be selective on who to investigate.
“What I would ask the police is to exhaust the report. What people think is that Hon Mawanda took all the Shs164b, which isn’t true. I wonder why the PS (Permanent Secretary) of the Ministry of Trade isn’t also investigated. The Parliament recommended her to be investigated,” Mr Kabanda said.
He added that although he knew many Opposition MPs who were implicated in the scandal, none had been summoned yet by the police.
The investigations started on August 25, 2023, when Speaker of Parliament Anita Among instructed the parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry to conduct an inquiry into the funds sent to cooperatives.
The investigations revealed that there were several ghost claimants and double payments to the cooperatives.
In its report, the committee recommended that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Inspector General of Government (IGG) investigate current and former MPs for their involvement in the affairs of the cooperatives.
Others implicated in the scandal are former Kyankwanzi District Woman MP Ann Maria Nankabirwa, and lawyers Ezra Kabali and Nandaah Wamukoota.
