Members of the Parliament Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (Cosase) have taken the step of involving the Parliament police unit to obtain statements from Kampala lawyer Patrick Kiconco Katabazi. This comes in connection with an alleged misappropriation of Shs39 billion that was initially allocated for settling claims by tea growers.
The decision to involve the police was made after Katabazi failed to appear before the committee last Thursday, following claims that his law firm, Pathways Advocates, received Shs39 billion from the National Agricultural Advisory Services (Naads) to resolve arrears owed to farmers.
Katabazi’s appearance before the committee on Tuesday didn’t provide clear answers to the questions raised, prompting Vice Chairperson Lucy Akello to seek assistance from law enforcement.
In earlier proceedings, tea farmers conveyed to the committee that they hadn’t received the complete payments owed to them.
Akello stated, “I will exercise the authority of our committee to compel the submission of documents. Consequently, I will request Katabazi and the witnesses who attended to visit the CID and provide statements. We’ve gathered information of significance to our committee.”
She added that the committee awaits a report from the CID, which will guide their recommendations and future course of action.
The issue of the funds came to the forefront as Cosase initiated an examination of queries in the Auditor General Report, which highlighted Naads’ spending of Shs7 billion without a budget during the 2021/2022 Financial Year.
Katabazi’s claims about settling the arrears were countered by the accounts of the complainants, leading the committee to decide on involving criminal investigators to gather more information for their subsequent steps.
Would you like to get published on this Website? You can now email Uganda Times: an Opinion, any breaking news, Exposes, story ideas, human interest, articles, or any interesting videos: [email protected]. Or join the Ugandatimes WhatsApp Group or Telegram Channel for the latest updates