President Yoweri Museveni has directed the Inspect General of Government (IGG) Beti Kamya and minister in charge of Ethics and Integrity, Akello Rose Lilly, to probe if Anita Among declared properties she allegedly owns in United Kingdom.
According to a letter this website saw, the president’s directive follows reports from British Embassy officials claiming that Anita Among owns houses and bank accounts in UK.
In the 2nd May 2024 letter addressed to the foreign affairs Minister Gen. Jeje Odongo, Mr. Museveni refers to a meeting he held last month with the British High Commissioner to Uganda at State House Nakasero, in which he was informed about the intention to impose sanctions against Among alongside former ministers Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nanduttu, for their involvement in the iron sheets scandal.
Last week, Britain deputy foreign minister Andrew Mitchell announced sanctions against Anita Among and former ministers Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nanduttu for diverting iron sheets meant for vulnerable people of Karamoja. The sanctions include a travel ban and asset freezes.
Besides owning houses, the British High Commissioner also told president Museveni that Anita Among has bank accounts in UK through which she pays school fees for her children who are undertaking studies from abroad. While the president says he was in hurry and could not engage in discussions with his guest, he said it would be very interesting if Anita Among did not declare these properties as the law requires her to do.
“Meanwhile, by the copy of this letter, I request the Inspector of government and minister of integrity to inform me if the Rt. Hon. Anita Among declared in her forms of leadership code the house or houses in the UK. I told the High Commissioner that the issue of the bank accounts may not be a serious issue if she sent legitimately earned money to support children who are legitimately studying there” President Yoweri Museveni states in the letter.
The president also suggests that in case it is found out that Anita Among declared the said houses as per the Leadership Code Act, the next issue would be how she got the money to build them in UK.
“If the two are answered correctly and showing no mistake, the remaining should be political, ideological judgement” Museveni adds.
However, the president says he asked himself why Among would buy or build houses in UK or anywhere abroad when Uganda where she earned the money is still underdeveloped and still needs those investments? Going forward, Museveni told the commissioner that he would need more information from the UK government but also went on to seek advice from the Attorney General and foreign affairs Minister Gen. Jeje Odongo on how to proceed with the issue.
As for sanctions against former ministers Kitutu and Nanduttu, Museveni tasked the Attorney General to probe it’s legality since this is purely an internal matter for Uganda. Museveni contends that the alleged theft of iron sheets was discovered by Uganda government agencies and local courts are still handling those cases.