Oulanyah: I did not block audit of BoU

The deputy speaker Jacob Oulanyah has distanced himself from allegations that he tried to block the audit and investigation into the operations of Bank of Uganda (BoU).

Oulanyah had come under fire from a section of MPs who accused of him of trying to block the investigations, claiming it could amount to sub judice since there are pending court cases involving the central bank and other banks.

But the deputy speaker told MPs on Tuesday that he only deferred debate on the matter until he got the necessary guidance.

“The motion was presented and debate started. The main thing came from a letter from lawyers that there are five cases filed in court on the same facts as contained in the motion and they raised the issue of sub judice under our rule 72. We could not continue debating the matter because they could prejudice the proceedings in court,” he said.

He said he has no problem with the audit of Bank of Uganda like the speaker, Rebecca Kadaga had guided.

He insisted he was not contradicted by Kadaga as the media has been alleging.

“My ruling was captured by the Speaker but the headlines continue to say the speaker overruled the deputy speaker. That is misleading,” Oulanyah said.

The Auditor General  has already started audit into the operations of the central bank particularly on the way it closed some banks and his findings are expected to enrich parliament’s investigations into the same.