Bobi Wine, also known as Robert Kyagulanyi, the President of the National Unity Platform, has reiterated his stance regarding the Shs500 million earmarked for former Leader of the Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga, labeling it as an instance of corruption and misuse of authority.
According to Bobi Wine’s statement, the decision to allocate the contentious ‘Service Award’ funds was made during a meeting attended by Speaker Anita Among, Mpuuga, and three NRM Commissioners of Parliament.
He highlighted that this decision was reached just two months following the dismissal of then-Commissioner Francis Zaake.
“In that meeting, these leaders awarded themselves a collective amount of Shs1.7 billion. Hon. Mpuuga was allocated 500 million shillings, while the three others were each awarded Shs400 million,” Bobi Wine said, adding that it’s against the law for a leader to take part in a discussion involving self-enrichment on his or her part.
He added, “It was not until the minutes of the Parliamentary Commission were ‘leaked’ to the public almost two years later, that we all got to know about this.”
Upon being informed of the situation, Bobi Wine promptly called for an emergency meeting with key party figures, such as all Deputy Presidents, the Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General, the current Leader of the Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi, the National Treasurer Muwanga Kivumbi, and Betty Nambooze.
During this meeting, Mpuuga was strongly urged to resign from the Commission in the interest of the public. He requested some time to consult with his family and other relevant stakeholders before making a decision.
“In the presence of these leaders, Hon. Mpuuga admitted that the leaked minutes were genuine. He admitted that it was wrong and immoral and apologized for the same. He regretted his actions and categorically stated that in hindsight, he should never have involved himself in such,” said the NUP President.
However, Bobi Wine says that he is shocked that Mpuuga is being unapologetic in a statement he issued on Friday where he also declined to step down.
“When the one day agreed upon passed and following several reminders, we decided to issue a public statement on the matter because it is indeed a public matter for which the people of Uganda expected answers. It is their money we are talking about! Before that, I personally kept in touch with him and implored him to do the moral thing, to save his image and that of the Party,” Bobi Wine said.
“Unfortunately, following our public statement, Hon. Mpuuga has now released a statement apparently moving away from his earlier position and apology. His statement does not address the real issue of the Shs500m, and instead indirectly tries to justify this extreme act of immorality and corruption,” he added.
Bobi Wine insists that the moral thing for Mpuuga to do is to apologize to the nation and step down from the Parliamentary Commission
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