A security officer at Bank of Uganda has told Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) that Justine Bagyenda, the former Executive Director in Charge of Commercial Bank Supervision at Bank of Uganda accessed confidential documents from the bank despite having left her position.
Opio says that their CCTV camera’s captured Bagyenda’s assistant’s smuggling bags of documents from the Central Bank early this year. Opio made the revelation under the directive of Central Bank Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, who had been tasked to explain whether the Central Bank had any case of stolen documents.
Over the past one week, the Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), committee of parliament has demanded quarterly progressive reports on the liquidation of assets of all banks closed between 1993 and 2017.
The committee chaired by Bugweri County MP Abdul Katuntu is investigating irregularities in the Central Bank and the mess surrounding the closure of banks over the years. The banks include to Teefe Trust Bank, International Credit Bank Ltd, Greenland Bank, Uganda Co-operative Bank, National Bank of Commerce, Global Trust Bank and Crane Bank Ltd.
In his 2017 forensic audit report, the Auditor General queried the absence of asset movement schedules or ledgers indicating the bank assets at closure, the assets sold and their selling price, as well as performing and nonperforming loans.
But the matter which stemmed from a 2017 forensic audit by the Auditor General has turned out to be highly contentious after a contradiction in statements issued by the team from the Central Bank.
Bagyenda told the committee last week that she handed over all the documents to the new Executive Director Supervision Tumubweine Twinemanzi, who however denied being in possession of any documents. Governor Mutebile also told the committee that he had never seen the documents in question.
Today, Opio told legislators that on March 13, 2018, the Central Bank received a confidential report about a security breach that occurred on February 11, 2018. He stated that a review of the security cameras saw Bagyenda’s personal bodyguard and driver breach security and ferry out three bags to her car on Sunday, February 11 before driving off.
Opio said that they had planned a search at Bagyenda’s residence but the bags were returned the following day at 6 p.m. but were still not checked at the entrance to ascertain the contents. He said that when Bagyenda was confronted about the incident, she accused the bank of witch hunting her and insisted that the bags contained personal items.
Meanwhile, Cosase Chairman, Abdu Katuntu ruled during the committee session, where Bagyenda was represented by her lawyer Robert Kirunda of Kirunda and Wasige Advocates, that she must appear at 10am on Thursday or face arrest.
Bagyenda was last week supposed to appear before the MPs probing into closure of seven commercial banks, but she did not show up saying she had traveled abroad.
In a letter to Katuntu , Bagyenda said she would not be able to appear before the committee today because she’s still out of the county on a personal business trip until December 13.
Katuntu thus instructed Police to ascertain Bagyenda’s whereabouts since it is rumored that she is in Nairobi though records at the airport say she was headed for Amsterdam, Netherlands whereas she is also said to be in the US.
