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By Max Patrick Ocaido
Judiciary’s Permanent Secretary Kagole Kivumbi is in hot soup for allegedly forging medical documents submitted to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
On Monday, PS Kagole appeared before the committee chaired by Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi to explain alleged misappropriation of Shs34billion as highlighted in the 2017/2018 Auditor General's report.
Following several inconsistencies in Kagole’s submissions, the committee put the PS on oath and ruled that he returns on Tuesday and consequently invited the CID director Grace Akullo with intention to have him arrested if he lies to the committee.
However, Kagole on Tuesday snubbed the committee to the dismay of the MPs. His personal lawyer told the committee that Kagole was sick. When he returned to the committee today (Wednesday), the MPs tasked the PS to submit medical documents as proof of his sickness. Indeed, Kagole told the committee that he was sick and sought medical attention at Bugolobi Medical Centre and that the medical documents were at home.
When tasked to send someone to his home to bring the documents, Kagole shifted goal posts saying that it is only him and his wife who can access his bedroom. The committee suspended the meeting to allow him go home to bring the documents along with a CID officer.
On return with documents, the committee queried the authenticity of the medical documents and appointed a subcommittee led by Kamusiime Pentagon (Butemba County MP) to go to Bugolobi Medical Centre to verify if indeed he [Kagole] was at the facility on Tuesday.
“We need confirmation that indeed the gentleman had a medical emergency. Ugandans are at pain and we know how the Judiciary has put intense suffering on people. So when we have such a pain and we see such technical people dilly darling then you know there is big rot in the institution,” Pentagon said.
Upon reaching Bugolobi Medical Centre, Kamusiime’s subcommittee crosschecked with the records at the facility only to realize that PS Kagole was at the hospital on Wednesday afternoon at 1pm a few minutes after the committee meeting had been suspended to allow him go home to pick the medical documents. Bugolobi Medical Centre has also come into the spotlight for allegedly playing a part in Kagole’s alleged forgery of the medical document.
However, Kagole refuted that he forged the medical document saying that he was treated as a VIP at Bugolobi Medical Centre and did not go through the normal preliminaries- the reason his records were not captured.
