Kerry Howard Mwesigwa.
The High Court in Kampala has invalidated the conclusions reached by Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) in relation to the Inspector General of Government Hon. Beti Kamya. The committee had implicated Ms. Kamya, who previously served as the Minister of Lands, and Finance Minister Matia Kasaija in an alleged irregular land compensation scheme amounting to Shs10.6 billion. However, the court ruling states that the process leading to their implication was flawed.
Presiding over the case in the Civil Division of the High Court, Justice Musa Ssekaana issued an order to annul the first recommendation of the COSASE report. This recommendation called for an investigation into Ms. Kamya’s involvement in initiating the Shs10.6 billion payments. Justice Ssekaana emphasized that the analysis and evaluation of evidence leading to this recommendation were fundamentally flawed. He further clarified that the initiation of the supplementary budget process, which fell within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, was not within Ms. Kamya’s purview.
While rejecting Ms. Kamya’s claim that Cosase had conducted an unfair evaluation of evidence and denied her a proper hearing, Justice Ssekaana upheld the legality of the committee’s investigations. Ms. Kamya argued that Cosase’s decision to investigate her for initiating the supplementary expenditure process lacked a basis and supporting evidence.
The case emerged from the findings of the Cosase committee, chaired by Nakawa East MP Joel Ssenyonyi. The committee discovered wrongful compensation to at least four landowners in various parts of the country, including instances of ghost claimants. The committee specifically pointed out that Ms. Beti Kamya, the former Minister of Lands, had erroneously initiated the supplementary budget for compensating the land claimants, a responsibility that should have been carried out by the Uganda Land Commission.
This ruling by the High Court not only overturns the implicated findings against Beti Kamya but also underscores the significance of fair and accurate evaluation of evidence in investigations of this nature. It highlights the necessity of adopting an impartial and thorough approach to ensure justice when dealing with allegations of misconduct involving public officials.
