KAMPALA-UGANDA/NEWSDAY: The Leadership Code Tribunal (LCT) has found a senior assistant secretary/transport officer at the ministry of Health, James Tukahirwa, guilty of abuse of public property.
In an 11-page ruling delivered in Kampala on April 20, the tribunal ordered Tukahirwa to pay Shs 22.5m to make good the loss and damage caused to the government trucks that he “abused and misused”.
“This money should be deposited on the Inspectorate of Government Asset Recovery Account with the Bank of Uganda. The respondent [Tukahirwa] be demoted henceforth while the seized vehicles should be returned to the ministry of Health and the building materials be returned to him,” reads the ruling.
Tukahirwa was represented by Fred Ruhindi of Messrs Ruhindi and Co. Advocates while the applicant was represented by Daniel Achato and Rebecca Naomi Nalweyiso from the Inspectorate of Government (IG).
He breached Section 12B of the Leadership Code of Conduct when he used the Health ministry vehicles registration numbers UG 6945M and UG 6646m for personal use.
The vehicles, meant to support the Covid-19 response, were used to transport building and construction materials to his private sites in Kyegegwa, Kazo, Ntungamo districts, and Munyonyo in Kampala.
On December 14, 2021, the IG seized the vehicles, building materials, and Shs 28,245,000 cash that was found with one of his drivers. For immediate remittance of the Shs 22.5m, the tribunal ordered the IG to use the seized cash to pay the fine and return the balance to him.
Tukahirwa has also been ordered to pay the costs of the application. The IG will, ordinarily within a week after this judgment, present a bill of costs to the LCT registrar who will in turn determine the monies that will be paid.
The tribunal is composed of five members who work full time; Dr Roselyn Karugonjo-Segawa (chairperson), lawyer and former cabinet minister Asuman Kiyingi (deputy chairperson), Jane Alum Okelowange, Didas Bakunzi Mufasha, and Joyce Nalunga Birimumaaso as members.
WHY THE DECISION
In one of the sessions last month, the IG lawyers argued that Tukahirwa be dismissed from public service or demoted and the portfolio of transport officer be scrapped from him. In the alternative, he should be retired in the public interest.
His lawyer prayed for leniency given his plea of guilt that saved the court’s time, his remorsefulness, and the fact that he was a first-time offender in his 32 years of public service. He also requested a warning or caution as well as agreeing to pay the Shs 22.5m fine.
The five-man team instead ruled that: “We have heard the arguments….. However, abuse of government property is a serious breach. In the current case, caution or warning might appear like a slap on the wrist.”
The tribunal did not also accept Tukahirwa’s explanation that he was under the mistaken belief that the vehicles that had been donated by the public for Covid-19 relief were part of the welfare scheme of the Health ministry.
It further added that he is an experienced senior official who knew or ought to have known better.
“This was a breach of trust by an officer who was supposed to be an example to others as a supervisor. The respondent, in his admission and the testimony of the drivers, proved that this abuse was repeatedly committed but not detected, corrected, and/or punished by the health ministry as required by the public service standing orders, 2021,” reads the ruling.
This, the tribunal, noted that it points to a weakness in the health ministry’s internal control systems, which should be addressed urgently.
Speaking to The Observer after the ruling, the LCT chairperson, Dr Roselyn Karugonjo-Segawa, urged public officials to familiarize themselves with the Leadership Code Act while on duty.
“People have been getting away with some of these breaches in case they are not covered by the Anti-Corruption court. The tribunal took a long to come about but we are here and we mean business. We didn’t come here to play or joke around. The punishments are clear if you abuse public property,” Karugonjo-Segawa said.
She added: “The vehicles were impounded by the IG in December 2021 but the case was sent to the LCT in March and disposed of this April. As a tribunal, we are supposed to work expeditiously in bringing about justice in this country. Right now, we have no case backlog. We intend to make a mark on this country in eradicating corruption because it hurts ordinary people who are meant to get a public service.”
Meanwhile, the LCT is a tribunal with powers of the High court. Tukahirwa now has 30 days from the judgment day to appeal to the High Court if he feels aggrieved by the decision taken against him.
The tribunal has so far heard and disposed of all the seven cases it has received from the IG since its inception. Of these, six were related to the non-declaration of assets. In the five cases, respondents paid fines and declared their assets while one case was withdrawn by the IG because they felt the person should not have been brought to the tribunal.
ABOUT THE TRIBUNAL
The LCT has the mandate to hear and determine all breaches of the Leadership Code of Conduct referred to it by the IG. It also hears appeals from the public where the IG either rejects an application for or does not grant access to the declaration of a leader or public officer (Section 7(7) of the Leadership Code Act 2002).
Where a person is found guilty, penalties range from warnings, caution, fines, demotion, dismissal from office, the vacation of office, confiscation of undeclared or illegally acquired property, withholding emoluments, and making good the loss occasioned to government property.
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