Suspended RDC Burora petitions Museveni over early retirement

Suspended deputy Resident City Commissioner (RDC) for Rubaga Division, Herbert Anderson Burora has petitioned President Museveni seeking early retirement from public service. 

Mr Burora who had served as a deputy RCC for more than five years, was mid this month suspended by the secretary to the Office of the President, Mr Yunus Kakande, after he criticised the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Annet Among, over alleged corruption in Parliament that she superintendents.

READ: Anita Among mastered my teachings - Museveni

Suspended Rubaga deputy RCC hands over office

A March 14 letter signed by Mr Kakande to Mr Burora and copied to Speaker Among, Minister for Presidency Milly Babalanda, the head of the RDC Secretariat, and the RCC for Kampala, indicates that Mr Burora’s actions contravened the Uganda Public Service Standing Orders (2021). 
The letter also indicated that Mr Burora was on March 14 invited for an impromptu meeting where he was faulted for having violated official advice and continued to issue statements on social media.
 
In the letter addressed to Mr Museveni, copied to the Minister for the Presidency, the Secretary of the Office of the President, and the RDC Secretariat, dated March 28, 2024, Mr Burora who recently handed his RDC office to Ms Doreen Keita said he was grateful for serving in Mr Museveni’s government but wished to retire early.

 He says he was suspended following President Museveni's meeting with the Speaker on March 13, 2024 during which meeting he was reportedly accused of making disparaging remarks about the Speaker on social media and in mainstream media about the extravagance of the 11th Parliament and Ms Among.
“Additionally, that I refused to apologize to the Speaker, which was the condition for stopping this disciplinary action. My suspension letter was hence copied to the Speaker,” Burora said.
Formerly a member of the Jobless Brotherhood activist group, Mr Burora further argues that his suspension has tarnished the reputation of the President.

“Your Excellency, having been your representative, the decision for my suspension has brought your office into disrepute as follows; loss of public trust on whether I can still ably represent you, cognisant of the fact that my suspension was triggered by corruption-related comments. If my suspension was to be lifted, the attitude of the public towards my office will be different, which will affect my productivity, the precedent will deter other RDCs from pursuing the corrupt and corruption will rise because public servants will prefer silence to remain in good books of their superiors,” Burora stated.

In light of these concerns, Burora went ahead to request Mr Museveni to grant him early retirement from service to prevent further damage to the reputation of the President's office and the government at large.
“Your Excellency, it is on these grounds that I request you to retire me from service, so that I don't bring further disrepute to your name, office and government. I thank you for the opportunity you gave me to serve, and hope that my request will be put under your consideration,” Burora wrote.

Mr Burora’s pursuit for early retirement comes days after President Museveni on Saturday made an attempt to protect Speaker Anita Among from intense public scrutiny following grave allegations implicating her in an alleged multibillion corruption scandal at Parliament.

The Bukedea Woman MP and the Parliament she presides over as Speaker have been in the news of late for alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money amid growing national debt burden, with many Ugandans calling on President Museveni to reign in over what critics described as uncontrolled expenditure.
“People like [Speaker] Anita Among are not the problem. The real problem we have is the traitors working for foreigners. They are not mistake makers but outright traitors working for wrong foreigners like homosexuals and imperialists. How can you talk so much on social media about Anita Among instead of those traitors? I'm getting intelligence and we're going to expose those traitors,” Mr Museveni, 79, told the crowd in Bukedea after commissioning the Bukedea Teaching Hospital and Bukedea College of Health Sciences that was established by Ms Among to provide professional health training for medical students.

Mr Museveni who has been in power since 1986 when he shot his way to State House through a guerrilla warfare commended Ms Among for bringing quality healthcare services closer to the people and always heeding to his guidance.

“I have been hearing people attacking Anita Among and some other MPs. Many of these young MPs are learners direct from university... sometimes, they maybe excited and get loans, debts ...or make mistakes. But within NRM, we always see how to help our people out of their mistakes," Mr Museveni said.
Before Mr Museveni’s address, Ms Among had cried out to him saying some people she didn’t name don't value her as an asset.

“I know you don't believe in kneeling but I am thanking you [by] kneeling for you. I want to tell you [that] you are the only person who is there for me. You are the only person who knows me as an asset. And I will never disappoint you. And that one is my commitment," she said before lauding Mr Museveni for taking a strong stand to defend Uganda's moral fabric by signing the anti-homosexuality law.