Parliamentary journalists have been barred from covering President Yoweri Museveni’s Wednesday meeting with the Public Accounts Committee—PAC members.
The committee is investigating more than 270 billion shillings handed out by the government in different compensation awards under unclear circumstances.
Instead the Committee Chairperson, Kassiano Wadri, while briefing his colleagues on their meeting at Nakasero State House, said that he got information that the official Press Unit of the Presidency, the PPU, would cover the function and send reports to media houses. Wadri apologized to the journalists and said it was not the committee’s decision to have the journalists barred.
The money includes 142 billion shillings paid out to Kampala tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba, close to 50 billion shillings given to Dura Cement over a deal with the National Enterprise Corporation -NEC of the Ministry of Defence and over 30 billion shillings to Burundi as war compensation, among others.
Other people paid in suspicious circumstances include Col. John Mugyenyi and Expe Trade for Namanve Industrial Park.
Wadri said the meeting with the president was called by him in November after he was variously mentioned by his ministers and Ministry of Finance officials approving the awards.
It also later transpired that he had disagreed with some of the huge cash awards, statements that have contradicted those of his officials who said they made the payments on the President’s directives.
Wadri said the committee would interact with the president and find out the role he played in awarding the claims.
