The once powerful Bank of Uganda senior official, Justine Bagyenda has yet again been hung out to dry by former workers of the central bank.
The former central bank executive director in charge of supervision, Bagyenda who has consistently featured as a key figure in the sale and closure of seven commercial banks, has now been accused of usurping the powers of the legal department in her alleged ploy to sell off Crane bank.
The accusation came after reports emerged that Bagyenda engaged external lawyers from MMAKS Advocates at Shs 930 million to offer financial advisory services on the closure of Crane bank without the involvement of the Bank of Uganda's legal department.
Crane bank was closed on October 30, 2016, an action which, according to the central bank governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, was taken upon a determination that bank was a significantly under-capitalized institution and posed systemic risks to the stability of the financial systems in the country.
The accusation came after reports emerged that Bagyenda engaged external lawyers from MMAKS Advocates at Shs 930 million to offer financial advisory services on the closure of Crane bank without the involvement of the Bank of Uganda's legal department.
Crane bank was closed on October 30, 2016, an action which, according to the central bank governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, was taken upon a determination that bank was a significantly under-capitalized institution and posed systemic risks to the stability of the financial systems in the country.
Mutebile stated then that the continuation of Crane bank activities was detrimental to the interests of its depositors. But the process that led to the closure and sale of Crane Bank to Dfcu at Shs 200 billion has since been questioned.
Parliament's committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) has since failed to secure, documentation showing how MMAKS was selected and contracted to offer financial legal advice on the sale, its terms of reference, and its legal opinions.
The commercial law firm co-owned by Apollo Nelson Makubuya, Timothy Kanyerezi Masembe and Moses Adriko received a payment of $251,045 (about Shs 930 million) for its financial advisory services. The payment was reportedly approved by the BoU governor Mutebile following a memo seeking the approval by Bagyenda.
The MPs on the Cosase committee were astonished to learn that the external lawyers drafted their own terms of engagement with the central bank. Cosase chairperson Abdul Katuntu said he found it "strange" that the lawyers crafted their own terms of reference.
But Bagyenda said that BoU legal counsel Margaret Kaggwa Kasule was in a better position to give answers on the engagement of external lawyers. Interestingly, Kasule denied any involvement in the matter, saying that her department was never involved in the process.
Bagyenda then requested that MMAKS be invited to produce the engagement letter that central bank has so far failed to trace. But Katuntu ruled that it was the ambit of the bank to produce the letter.
Katuntu accused Bagyenda of usurping the mandate of the legal directorate to engage external lawyers without the involvement of the legal department.
The commercial law firm co-owned by Apollo Nelson Makubuya, Timothy Kanyerezi Masembe and Moses Adriko received a payment of $251,045 (about Shs 930 million) for its financial advisory services. The payment was reportedly approved by the BoU governor Mutebile following a memo seeking the approval by Bagyenda.
The MPs on the Cosase committee were astonished to learn that the external lawyers drafted their own terms of engagement with the central bank. Cosase chairperson Abdul Katuntu said he found it "strange" that the lawyers crafted their own terms of reference.
But Bagyenda said that BoU legal counsel Margaret Kaggwa Kasule was in a better position to give answers on the engagement of external lawyers. Interestingly, Kasule denied any involvement in the matter, saying that her department was never involved in the process.
Bagyenda then requested that MMAKS be invited to produce the engagement letter that central bank has so far failed to trace. But Katuntu ruled that it was the ambit of the bank to produce the letter.
Katuntu accused Bagyenda of usurping the mandate of the legal directorate to engage external lawyers without the involvement of the legal department.
MMAKS was reportedly to further receive Shs 3 billion - about 5 per cent of the monies recovered from Crane bank shareholders after the sale of the bank.