The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, has confirmed that he has written to government investigative entities to urge them to look into financial misappropriations at Parliament. Speaking to journalists at Parliament, Ssenyonyi, who is also the Nakawa West MP, stated that he has formally requested entities such as the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), the Inspector General of Government (IGG), the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), and the Attorney General (AG) to initiate investigations into alleged misuse of public funds at Parliament, particularly in the office of the Speaker, Anita Among.
The focus of these investigations includes the purportedly excessive travel allowances of Speaker Among, irregular staff recruitment involving close to 200 individuals, substantial sums of money deposited into staff accounts, a contract worth over 3 billion awarded to Maama Bukedea FM, which is owned by Speaker Among, among other issues.
Ssenyonyi has called on the Inspector General of Government not to shy away from investigating financial irregularities within Parliament. This comes after IGG Betty Kamya indicated that her office may not take the lead in probing corruption scandals within Parliament, citing ongoing investigations by the Attorney General.
Ssenyonyi has urged those implicated in threatening whistleblowers regarding alleged financial improprieties in Parliament to be transparent and accountable to the public instead of resorting to intimidation tactics. He emphasized that intimidation tactics would only exacerbate the corruption problem rather than resolve it.
Furthermore, Ssenyonyi criticized Speaker Among for attributing blame to her predecessors and engaging in what he described as “witch-hunt games.” He called on Speaker Among to focus on providing accountability to the public rather than engaging in divisive rhetoric.
