A group of concerned citizens have petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, over allegations that Sam Kutesa, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, received a bribe while serving as President of the United Nations General Assembly.
The group of four, David Bala, Simon Peter Esomu, Henry Byansi and Martin Twomo called on the Speaker on Friday, 5th January 2018 and requested to expedite the petition in her mandate as Speaker of Parliament.
Speaking on behalf of the group, David Bala cited various reports in local and international media in November 2017 that the Justice Department of the United States of America had implicated Kutesa in money laundering activities under an alleged charity organization known as “The Uganda Foundation”.
The group states that Kutesa’s presidency of the 10th UN General Assembly has also been queried by the public.
“It should be remembered that Kutesa’s moral authority to occupy the position of United Nations General Assembly’s presidency was highly contested through petitions at local and international organs,” reads the petition to the Speaker.
The petitioners requested the Speaker to set up a committee or refer the matter to an appropriate committee for investigation.
They also called for a motion to impeach the Foreign Affairs minister; lest the group would be constrained to refer the matter to court, to compel Parliament to execute the matter.
Kadaga took note of the concerns of the petitioners and promised to take up the queries and get back to them in two weeks. She said the petitioners had a right to demand for accountability from their leaders.
On 20th November 2017, Hon. Sam Kutesa was named in US court documents as having allegedly received a $500,000 (about Shs1.8 billion) bribe to help a Chinese energy company secure business advantages in Uganda.
