MPs order Gen Aronda to arrest officers in pension bribe scandal

MPs yesterday questioned the head of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate (CIID), Ms Grace Akullo, and Internal Affairs minister Aronda Nyakairima about allegations that bribery of police officers led to the collapse of the pension scam case.
Lawmakers on the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee asked Ms Akullo to explain why her directorate submitted two conflicting reports to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) which they said caused the case to be dismissed.
Mr Ibrahim Ssemuju Nganda (Kyadondo East), Mr Odonga Otto (Aruu County), Mr Theodore Ssekikubo (Lwemiyaga) and Muwanga Kivumbi (Butambala) also asked Ms Akullo about the two police officers she accused of writing one of the disputed reports behind her back.
Daily Monitor on Wednesday ran a story quoting Ms Akullo stating that two detectives; Mr George Komurubuga and Mr Moses Kato took bribes and caused the collapse of the case where nine suspects were charged with masterminding the plunder of at least Shs165b belonging to pensioners.
MPs demand
The MPs demanded that the two police officers named in the scam be arrested to which Gen Nyakairima promised to take action.
The MPs also decried the apparent lack of interest in theft of pension funds; in-fighting and corruption at CIID before they resolved to summon Gen Kayihura to explain what is going on.
“What happened to the police officers who took bribes to kill the pension case when our people are dying without getting their pension money? And why did CIID issue two reports to confuse DPP? This is a scandal and as a committee we need answers,” Mr Ssemujju said.
Accusing the two named officers of indiscipline, Ms Akullo said the pension scam was investigated by 15 police officers and that the only report she issued was the one sent to the DPP last year. She said it was “a complex case” and that the other report was written behind her back.
“The dismissal of the case was not because of the two reports or lack of evidence and it’s going to be reinstated at an appropriate time,” Ms Akullo said. “It was an act of indiscipline, it’s the mandate of the CIID to send reports to DPP not any other officer,” she added.
She said she learnt about the second report from the media and that nobody informed her that there was another report other than the one she signed. She said she gave a comment to Daily Monitor because she wanted to clarify the issue of two reports.
“I confirmed that there was a second report and that nobody is allowed to send reports to DPP. It’s the two officers who came to my office and I suspect them…,” she said.
In a separate statement issued yesterday, Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura acknowledged that there could have been shortcomings by the police in the investigations but dismissed claims that the police entirely failed on its part thus leading to the collapse of the case.
He said the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) of the police throughout the investigation received and investigated such allegations of bribery, and played a commendable role in protecting the investigation.
The two named officers have since denied any wrong doing and insisted that they too have a story to tell. DPP Mike Chibita told MPs on Wednesday that strange things happened in the pension scam and vowed to reinstate the case
- Daily Monitor

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