The minister of Works and Transport, Gen Katumba Wamala has told MPs on Committee Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) that Jennifer Bamuturaki was appointed chief executive officer of Uganda Airlines on the orders of President Museveni.
"I cannot question the President's authority because I simply do not have that power. He has the constitutional right to do what he did. He said he had done all necessary due diligence to arrive at the recommendation of Jennifer Bamuturaki for the position," said the minister.
"The president wrote in his handwriting a letter stating that he had done due diligence and listed a number of reasons supporting his directive to the airline to appoint Bamuturaki."
Following an audit report, the committee in its investigations found that Bamuturaki did not have the minimum academic qualifications for the position of CEO of the airline and was not subject to the necessary recruitment process before being appointed to her position.
The chairperson of the committee, Joel Ssenyonyi questioned the minister over his role in the recruitment of Bamuturaki given that he is the overseer and supervisor of the board of directors and key shareholder of the airline.
Ssenyonyi said PriceWaterHouseCoopers had been hired to conduct the recruitment but Bamuturaki was appointed before the process was completed.
"If indeed she was competent enough, why was she not subjected to the due process which is both legal and fair like the rest?" he asked.
Ssenyonyi said that there are legally binding procedures in place to facilitate the recruitment of a person to the position of CEO which were flouted.