Lawmakers probing the manner in which sh6b was paid out to 42 government technocrats as a bonus for winning a court case against oil giants Tullow have given the Auditor General, John Muwanga, three days to investigate the actual source of the funds.

The MPs sitting on the committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) yesterday also separately met the central bank governor, Prof. Tumusiime Mutebile and the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Justice Irene Mulyagonja.

In his interface with the committee, Muwanga conceded that he was not sure where exactly the sh6b was drawn from, since the finance ministry sought an audit warrant from his office after the money had been paid out.

Meanwhile, the IGG Justice Irene Mulyagonja said the manner in which the oil bonuses were paid, if what she has read in the press about it is true, is a testament of a wider problem of conflict of interest in the management of public affairs.

Mulyagonja, who declined to proffer an opinion on the matter of the oil bonuses since the Inspectorate has not heard from the beneficiaries, wants an amendment to the law relating to conflict of interest.

The reason Mulyagonja wants conflict of interest to be a matter of civil litigation instead of criminal matter is to lower the burden of proof from beyond reasonable doubt to balance of probability.