The former Director General of Internal Security Organisation (ISO), Colonel Kaka Bagyenda (pictured) snubbed appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee for vetting as Uganda’s Ambassador to Angola.
Kaka was recently fired as ISO boss by President Yoweri Museveni.
In a move to redeem his career that had been left in tatters, Museveni later appointed Kaka Uganda’s ambassador to Angola.
He was slated to appear alongside Hassan Galiwango, the former NRM Finance Director who was appointed as Uganda’s ambassador to Kenya, but Bagyenda was no show. Parliament’s Appointments Committee vetted and approved Galiwango. He promised to harmonise trade relations between Kenya and Uganda.
MPs were shocked when Bagyenda simply sent them a text message informing them of a strange disease that had stopped him from showing up.
The revelation left some opposition MPs seething like Luttamaguzi Semakula (Nakaseke South) who accused Bagyenda of continued disrespect to Parliament, saying it isn’t the first time the ex ISO boss has declined to appear before Parliament.
“He didn’t honour the invitation of Parliament because he knew that no MP would have supported him. Earlier on, he had undermined the powers of Parliament, asking who is Parliament when Parliament asked him to answer questions regarding safe houses in which many Ugandans had been tortured,” Lutamaguzi said.
He added: “He was wise enough not to attend the Appointments Committee and he would have scored 0.001% because no MP was happy with what he did to ordinary citizens. He just sent a text via the phone that he wasn’t feeling well.
Kalungu West MP, Gozanga Ssewungu said that Bagyenda sent a representative to pick letters on 28th October from Parliament that invited him for vetting, and the letter highlighted what MPs required of him to present ahead of his vetting to enable the Committee go through the normal process of vetting.
However, after picking the letters, Bagyenda is said to have disappeared in oblivion until today when he sent the Committee a text message announcing his absence.
Ssewungu said it was smart of Bagyenda not to show up.
“He was just smart, none of us would have expected him, none of us would have entertained him in the Appointments Committee, we would have pushed him first to the Human Rights Committee where he refused to attend, then after, he would have appeared before the Appointments Committee,” he said, adding: “He isn’t fit and proper to represent this country. He is filthy, he isn’t clean. There is no excuse he can give, he never sent in his documents, maybe they are questionable.”
Following the brusque firing of Bagyenda, Government had produced a Shs2.567bn plan to redeem his career by establishing a new embassy in Angola.
In a bid to legalise Kaka’s redemption plan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is seeking to secure a loan of Shs6.4Trn from International Monetary Fund and domestic market to finance the budget deficit.
When the proposal was tabled before Parliament’s Budget Committee, some MPs raised questions on the amount required and the timing of the request to establish the embassy with Charles Illukor (Kumi County) wondering if the money is being spent on soothing Kaka’s egos.
Illukor was quoted saying, “The narration given is just is only security. opening an embassy can’t be simply Shs1Bn, is it justified to open an embassy? We are now beginning to think otherwise that this Shs1Bn is needed to appease somebody who has been sacked so he doesn’t cause us trouble.”
President Museveni sacked Kaka as ISO boss in October 2020, 10 months after the expiry of this 3year contract in December 2019 and replaced him with Lt Col Charles Oluka, the former director-in-charge of technical services who had been initially fired by Bagyenda. He was appointed to ISO in January 2017, replacing Brig. Ronnie Balya.
Uganda currently has 36 missions across the globe and although Angola opened its mission in Uganda in 2007, Uganda hasn’t reciprocated the gesture and the Kaka redemption plan is aimed at deepening Uganda’s cordial bilateral relations with Angola.
Patrick Mugoya, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied claims that the Angolan Embassy was being established to redeem Bagyenda’s career, rather saying the establishment was for security reasons and to promote and protect Uganda’s interests.
He said that the new embassy in Angola is Uganda’s gesture towards Angola’s efforts towards normalising relations between Uganda and Rwanda, following the Luanda Summit at which the Heads of State between Uganda and Rwanda signed MOU on normalisation of our relations.
During an investigation into human rights abuses in safe houses by ISO operatives, Kaka refused to appear before Parliament’s Human Rights Committee to answer to allegations that Ugandans were being illegally detained and tortured so as to obtain confessions about their crimes.
