A
preliminary investigation by the Attorney General has cleared Foreign Affairs
Minister Sam Kutesa of any wrongdoing in regard the allegations of receiving a bribe of 500,000 US
dollars from
President Museveni recently said he had heard of the bribery
allegations and had instructed the Attorney General to investigate Kutesa in
regard the allegations.
This week, the Attorney General, William Byaruhanga presented
a preliminary report of the investigations carried out that he read on the
floor of parliament.
He said Kutesa was involved in any form of bribery as had
been alleged.
“While it is
true Hon. Kutesa’s name is mentioned in the indictment and featured in the
course of trial, he was and is not an accused
or suspect in any criminal matter that is currently ongoing,”Byaruhanga told
the August House.
He said that
the Foreign Affairs Minister and his wife Edith Kutesa are directors in Food
Security and Energy Sustainability Foundation, a company limited by guarantee
that he said received a donation from an NGO from Hong Kong.
“The
foundation is a lawfully registered Ugandan entity incorporated on July 24 2015
and received 500,000 US dollars in 2016 from a Hong Kong based NGO known as
China Energy Fund Committee,” he said.
“It was a
donation to Kutesa’s company started as a vehicle to enable him continue championing
some of the causes he had spearheaded during his tenure as the president of UN
general assembly with respect to the 17 sustainable development goals.”
The Attorney
General told parliament that investigations into the allegations will continue before
he comes up with full report.
“I am continuing
to investigate this matter and to engage with various other agencies and to
table full report before the president within 6 to 8 weeks,”Byaruhanga told
parliament.
However,
legislators insisted they were not satisfied with government’s explanation and
demanded the Kutesa be summoned to answer queries in regards the bribe
allegations.
A court in the US ,
two weeks ago convicted former Hong Kong minister Patrick
Ho Chi-ping after being found guilty by a federal jury in New York of
offering millions of dollars in bribes to African officials including Sam
Kutesa to gain business favours.
Speaking about the claims,
President Museveni said he had been informed by Kutesa that the money was meant
for charity.
According to prosecution,
evidence gathered by FBI indicated that Ho sent the money from Hong Kong to a
bank account in the US before it was wired onto an account in Stanbic Bank in
Uganda.
Ho, 69, was Hong Kong’s Home
Affairs minister from 2002 to 2007 before becoming the deputy
secretary general of a think tank that was financed by Chinese
conglomerate, CEFC China Energy.
He was convicted by the
New York Southern District Court jury on seven of eight counts of
bribery and money laundering over oil rights for CEFC in Chad and
Uganda and he now awaits sentence.
