A simmering war at the National Drug Authority (NDA) has taken yet another twist following a petition to the Inspectorate of Government to investigate the heads of the drugs regulatory body for, among other things, theft of public resources and abuse of office.
The petition dated May 18, 2018 and received by the IGG’s office on May 23, is authored by Mr Mark Kamanzi, the NDA head of legal services, who is currently on interdiction.
“We received the petition and we are investigating the matter,” Ms Munira Ali, the spokesperson of the Inspectorate of Government, told Saturday Monitor on June 28. She was noncommittal on how far the investigations have gone.
Mr Kamanzi wants the ombudsman to investigate former Mbarara Municipality MP Medard Bitekyerezo, the chairperson of the board, and executive secretary Donna Kusemererwa. Both Dr Bitekyerezo and Ms Kusemererwa dismiss the allegations. This petition to the IG is one of the many this newspaper has seen to the ombudsman to investigate government officials allegedly engaged in abuse of office and related offences.
The allegations
Mr Kamanzi wants Dr Bitekyerezo and Ms Kusemererwa investigated for allegedly using NDA money to settle legal expenses in cases he says were brought against the duo as individuals.
In May 2017 or shortly after that date, Ms Kusemererwa received a total of Shs35.4m as reimbursement of payment to Ms Lumonya, Bushara and Co. Advocates, a law firm that had defended her in a suit brought against her as an employee of NDA.
Mr Kamanzi writes in the petition: “Whereas the memo (generated by Ms Kusemererwa herself) requested for Shs20m (not that it was right) but purely out of greed and in abuse of her office, Ms Kusemererwa paid herself Shs35,400,000 in both Misc. Application No.2084 of 2017 and Misc. Application No.2083 of 2017(Donna Assimwe Kusemererwa Vs Nakachwa Florence Obiacha) for which Shs35,400,000 was dished out, NDA was not a party.”
He says the payment was done in abuse of office and occasioned financial loss to NDA for which Dr Bitekyerezo and Ms Kusemererwa should be investigated and held accountable. He argues that Ms Kusemererwa was sued in her private capacity and privately hired Ms Lumonya, Bushara & Co Advocates, a law firm, he says, was not pre-qualified to provide legal services to NDA but was instead used as a conduit for siphoning money from NDA in total disregard of established laws and procedures. Mr Kamanzi also alleges that Ms Kusemererwa and Dr Bitekyerezo connived to swindle NDA funds.
For example, the petitioner says the former legislator was privately sued in the case of Kimpi Isabirye Vs AG & Dr Medard Bitekyerezo Misc Cause No.227 of 2017, but that in abuse of her office, Ms Kusemererwa “illegally, unashamedly and in connivance” with Dr Bitekyerezo paid for his legal fees using NDA funds despite the fact that NDA was/is not a party to this suit. Dr Bitekyerezo had earlier approved Ms Kusemererwa’s payment of legal fees to her private lawyers using NDA funds.
Mr Kamanzi also takes issue with the fact that the money meant to be paid to Ms Kusemererwa’s lawyers was paid into her personal account and not directly to the lawyers.
Other allegations relate to Ms Kusemererwa giving credit to Medical Access Ltd, a company whose main director was or is still her personal referee and recommender for the current job she is holding at NDA and which credit is not backed by any law, guarantee or agreement and is interest free, thereby, occasioning financial loss to NDA. She is also accused of illegally paying for her husband, Mr Kusemerwa, to travel with her to Canada on NDA official duties and paying him per diem of $500 per day, air tickets, meals and accommodation for all the days spent yet Mr Kusemererwa is not an employee of NDA.
Dr Bitekyerezo, Mr Kamanzi alleges, assigned himself the responsibility of inspection of drug manufacturing facilities and allegedly influenced Ms Kusemererewa to pay for his travel to Oman to inspect pharmaceutical facilities.
National Drug Authority responds
Contacted for a response on the allegations, NDA sent us a joint response dated June 13, 2018. On the alleged theft of Shs35.4m by Ms Kusemererwa, the NDA statement, quoting Section 54 (5) of the National Drug Policy and Authority (NDP/A) Act which protects NDA employees from incurring legal costs incurred in the exercise of their work, they contend Ms Kusemererwa was covered.
“Although Ms Donna Kusemererwa was sued in her personal capacity, she was actually being sued for actions executed in her official capacity”.
Since Ms Kusemererwa had already paid the lawyers, Lumonya Bushara and Co. Advocates, she was reimbursed, thus the payment to her personal account, the statement says.
On Ms Kusemererwa using NDA money to take her husband to Canada and even paying his per diem allowances, the NDA bosses say the “Secretary to the Authority’s contract entitles her to accompanied travel, once a year and this contract was drawn and witnessed by the petitioner (Mark Kamanzi) while he still served as the head of legal services, at NDA. They add that the Uganda Public Service Standing Orders (2010) entitles the accompanying spouse the same facilities as those of the person they are accompanying. Mr Kamanzi says, however, that such accompanied travel does not include travel that is work-related as was the case with the Canada trip.
On the alleged illegal expenses in KIMPI ISABIRYE vs. AG & Dr Medard Bitekyerezo Misc Cause 227 of 2017: “This is completely false. Dr Medard Bitekyerezo is meeting his own legal costs. We challenge Mr Kamanzi to produce evidence to support this allegation. The payment in question relates to Miscellaneous Cause No. 186 of 2017 where Dr Medard Bitekyerezo was sued in his capacity as NDA chairman, together with NDA. These costs are legitimately being met by NDA.”
On Credit facilities to Medical Access Ltd: “There is no conflict of interest whatsoever. Conflict of interest assumes derivation of personal benefit from actions or decisions made in official capacity.”
On Dr Bitekyerezo carrying out Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection of drug facilities in Oman: “The Chairman has never travelled on GMP inspection. The travel in question was an invitation from Omer Alshaikh President, OMAB Group to officials from various government agencies and Ministry of Health, private hospitals and NDA for an inspection visit to Pharma International Company (Amman, Jordan) and Medpharma/ Valeant (Sharjah, UAE). This is very different from a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Inspection for Foreign Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facilities which has clearly laid-out procedures that starts with a formal application process, payment of GMP Inspection fees before the inspection.