Kampala- Police have explained the controversy surrounding the purchase of a bomb jammer that was supposed to be installed in the car of the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, following information of a plot to assassinate her.

Speaking to Daily Monitor on Tuesday, the police spokesperson, Mr Fred Enanga, insisted the equipment was bought but said police would not divulge details.

He said Ms Kadaga is “a very very important person” whose security is of paramount significance.

“Following emerging challenges to her security, it was found necessary to upgrade her security detail to counter these threats by effectively equipping it with additional safety features. It is against this background that the request was forwarded to the police, who have conducted several classified expenditures on behalf of Parliament,” he said.

Mr Enanga was responding to a whistleblower’s allegations to the effect that police received money but did not purchase the machine.

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) recently received a petition from a whistleblower alleging that the police ICT director received at least Shs450m to purportedly procure and install a security device called a bomb jammer on Speaker Kadaga’s vehicle following information of a plot to assassinate her, but the money was shared without buying the equipment.

The IGG, Ms Irene Mulyagonja, confirmed receiving the petition but said she had not decided whether to open investigations into the matter.

Police did not explain the kind of threats and where the equipment was bought.

Mr Enanga said the procurement was conducted within the budget approvals of Parliament and the provisions of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority.

“The details of this transaction may not be divulged as the commitments are of interest to National Security,” Mr Enanga said.

He said police received Shs200m which they used to procure the bomb jammer, not Shs400m as the whistleblower claims was procured to purchase it and then money was misappropriated.

Ms Mulyagonja on Tuesday said it was a sensitive matter to investigate allegations by whistleblowers that police officers misappropriated the money meant to buy a bomb jammer.

She said they were still looking for preliminary information to determine whether the IGG was the right body to investigate the allegations.

“A decision to investigate such a matter can’t be made on the spot. The Act (IGG Act) doesn’t allow us to rush into matters of security. We can’t jump around on security issues because it might compromise security,” she said.