Former Bank of Uganda Executive Director in Charge of Supervision Justine Bagyenda Justine Bagyenda has been in the middle of the storm during Parliament’s probe on the closure and takeover of seven commercial banks.
Bagyenda whose docket was supervision of commercial banks is a principal figure in the probe by Parliament’s committee on Commissions Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises. There are accusations that she profiteered from the takeover of the banks.
In a move that has been construed as running away from the heat, Bagyenda has written to Parliament in a letter copied to her compatriot on the hot seat Deputy Governor Loius Kasende, and Abdu Katuntu the Cosase Chairperson who is doing the grilling.
“This is to inform you that I will be out of the country from the evening of 22nd November 2018, to attend to some engagements which I had confirmed before receipt of your letter Ref.Gov.902 dated 19/11/2018 regarding Cosase meetings,” Bagyenda wrote.
Bagyenda has already come under storm to explain the whereabouts of missing documents regarding the sale of several banks. While she argued that she is no longer an employee of Bank of Uganda, her successor Dr. Twinemanzi Tumubweine said the said documents were missing in her handover reports.
Bagyenda is also to answer why she wrote to DFCU Bank during the Crane Bank takeover, giving them the green light to keep Crane Bank’s Shs600billion bad book off the records.
This is the second time Bagyenda is snubbing Parliament in a matter of weeks. She was supposed to face Parliament’s Appointments committee in September over her reappointment to the Financial Intelligence Authority board, but due to the controversies surrounding her, she chose to keep away which resulted in her missing the job.
She had however written to Parliament indicating that she would be out of the country during the Appointments Committee sitting but telephone records placed her to her Mbuya home and she even made a few transactions in Standard Chartered Bank at the time she claimed she was abroad.
