Members of Parliament have disagreed on the methods employed to probe the integrity of Jenifer Bamuturaki, the Chief Executive Officer of Uganda National Airlines Company Limited.
Bamuturaki and her team are being probed by the Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises – COSASE committee of Parliament in relation to queries raised by the Auditor General on the management and operations of Uganda Airlines. The Queries relate to the staff structure, varying salary employee grades, illegal procurement of IT software and poor contract files management among others
Today, Bamuturaki, appeared before the commitee for the third consecutive day. But for more than an hour, commitee members pressed her to reveal her true identity after it emerged that she had changed her name through a Deed Poll.
In the Deed Poll document dated March 2019, filed and stamped by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau – URSB, Bamuturaki denounced her childhood name (Musiime Bamuturaki Jenifer) and adopted Jenifer Arnold Lenkai as a new name. But MPs tasked her to explain the reason for changing her name, and the exact name she uses considering the fact that her academic documents still have the old identity.
Bamuturaki who had initially preferred not to comment on the matter later said that the change of name is void because she did not swear an affidavit. She disclosed that she abandoned the process of changing her name and adopted Musiime as a marital name while ‘Bamuturaki’ was her father’s name.
The Committee also tasked Bamuturakiher to present her academic credentials after it emerged that she was irregularly appointed by the President without the requisite qualifications to head the national airline. But she told the committee that she misplaced her Uganda Certificate of Education – UCE and was still in the process of acquiring a new one from the Uganda National Examinations Board – UNEB.
She also failed to present her transcript to support her qualification in Social Works and Social Administration she purported to have attained from Makerere University. In her resume, Bamuturaki indicated that she studied the course between 1990-1993 and graduated in 1994. But the MPs were further thrown into doubt, wondering why she never bothered to pick up her transcript from the University, 28 years later.
But Sheema North MP Naome Kibaaju disagreed with the Committee Chairperson and colleagues for probing deeper into the personal life and space of the witness instead of focusing on real issues relating to the operations of the airline.
However, Mpindi Bumali, a representative of Persons with Disabilities objected to Kibaaju’s submissions arguing that auditing the private life of a public official is acceptable because they use public resources in the execution of their duties.
Kazo County MP Dan Atwijukire Kimosho explained that a change of name is a legal matter that Bamuturaki may exploit to evade the law in case a legal battle arises from her dealings premised under an ambiguous identity.
Committee Chairperson Joel Ssenyonyi ruled that matters of names and identity have cost some MPs their seats in Parliament after such cases were challenged in courts of law. He added that Bamuturaki has already told several lies to the Committee which calls for more probe into her integrity.
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