MPs FIGHT AS DEFENCE COMMITTEE C/P SHIELDS MINISTER

By; Francis Lubega

Members of Parliament seating on the Parliamentary Committee of Defence have exchanged blows in meeting where some of them accused their Vice Chairperson and Budaka County MP, Kezekiya Mbogo of conflict of interest and adjourning the session prematurely.

The MPs got convinced that the chairperson was clearly trying to shield Defence Minister Adolf Mwesige from their questions arising from the defence budget framework paper of the financial year 2018/19 worth over 2.7 trillion shillings.

Minister Mwesige had led a delegation of officials from the Ministry of Defence to submit on the budget framework paper but the meeting went chaotic within for the most part of its sessions after MPs looked to be deflected by Mbogo while they fired hard questions to the Minister.

The members led by Hon Muwanga Kivumbi and Theodere Ssekikubo began by demanding from the Ministry a report of the investigations that were carried out into the UPDF Choppers that crushed in Kenya in 2012 on the way to Somalia which he declined to reveal claiming it was a classified report.

Most of the queries that came up were related to the current security situation of the country; the reported conflicts within the different security organs, the presence of UPDF soldiers in DRC and the unclear operations which include rearresting of released suspects.

The MPs who include Theodore Sekikubo, Muwanga Kivumbi and Gilbert Olanya probed Mwesige over the funds his ministry continuously allocates to NEC subsidiaries to run projects that are not profitable.

Key among these subsidiaries is Uzima LTD manufacturers of bottled water which got a loan of 328 million shillings from the ministry that has never been paid back and the NEC-Tractor hire project LTD which incurred a loss of 123 million shillings in 2015/2016 Financial year.

Other queries were related to the current security situation of the country, the reported conflicts within the different security organs, the presence of UPDF soldiers in DRC and the unclear operations which include re-arresting of released suspects which the chairperson ruled out of order and adjourned the meeting.

In the process of the Minster Adolf Mwesigye and his delegation trying to leave the committee room, the MPs blocked the door way to the extent of turning confrontational.

The MPs accused Hon Mbogo for acting uncivilized and incompetent and to save the situation Minister Adolf Mwesigye had to sit and accept questions with the new chairman of Obongi County Hassan Kaps Fungaro.

MPs allowed the minister and his delegation request for rescheduling of their meeting but they insist they will not pass their budget line without answering their questions.