The Director General of Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), Robert Mukiza, has hit out at what he described as malicious individuals who are creating and spreading false news about him and the government agency to sabotage his work.
Mukiza said the four individuals, whom he did not name, have been sponsoring a sustained media company aimed at character assassinating him and insulating that he is perpetuating corruption.
“I know who these people are and their devilish motives. It has always been a group of three but recently, another renegade joined them, so they are now four. They have turned the fight against me into a full-time job,” he said.
Over the last two weeks, several online news sites in Kenya and DR Congo have been reporting that UIA has mismanaged the Kampala Industrial and Business Park Development project, which aims to upgrade Namanve into a state-of-the-art infrastructure facility.
The IGG has also conducted several investigations into the UIA after several whistle-blower petitions about the project were sent to the Attorney General, the IGG, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), Parliament and the President.
However, the reports have always indicated that there is no cause for alarm.
Mukiza said the fact that they were absolved of any wrongdoing by the IGG and other government investigative agencies shows that the detractors have lost, hence resorting to blackmail with many unregistered websites operating outside the country.
“Why can’t they submit the so-called evidence to the relevant investigative institutions in Uganda so that I disapprove of them? They very well know that at UIA we operate by the book and there is nothing they are alleging that I can’t explain with evidence. That’s why they must hide behind anonymous websites that are based outside Uganda to publish their fake stories,” he added.
He assured the public that the Namanve project has never been mismanaged and that UIA is on track to transform the area.
“I already know how these fake stories are fabricated; who suggests which scandalising story about me enough to attract public interest should be written. I know who eventually types the stories, I know who approves them, I know how they are sent to online outlets and I also know who contributes money to pay these websites to ensure that they are posted on different platforms to achieve the desired impact,” he added.
He said the detractors have now sucked in other government officers from the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney General’s office and the British High Commissioner to Uganda into the matter to gain relevance.
“These blackmailers know that these people are very innocent but they keep dragging them in their doctored news in order to keep the bad stories about me and the institution fresh, exciting and relevant to the public,” he said.
He appealed to professional journalists and media houses to desist from publishing the misleading news.
“Journalists in Uganda by now know that 100 percent of the negative news about UIA, its staff and projects are extremely biased and fake and I’m happy that they are no longer giving them attention as they used to; the reason why these evil people have run to Kenya to use the websites there,” he said.
“I have also heard that they have created anonymous websites in Kishasha, primarily to publish fake news about UIA and me but they are extremely dense , crafty and myopic. If they are genuine in what they say , why then run to run 700kms to Nairobi or 3,000kms to Kinshasa to publish a story there moreover on a website that was created a few minutes before the story was published?” he said.
The UIA bosss appealed to the public to treat the stories generated by his enemies with the contempt they deserve as they are not produced by journalists but rather individuals with biased opinions.
“Those you see trending aren’t stories but rather individual opinions of my enemies. They are the ones who draft, type, edit and send them to the publications, so nobody should take them seriously,” he said.
“There is no problem whatsoever with the Institution called UIA that I lead or the projects under it’s mandate. We are busy fulfilling our mandate of ensuring that we attract more investors as we keep the ones we already have happy and satisfied."
