Former Head of Public Service and Secretary to Cabinet Dr. John Mitala Suspiciously Passes on

Arguably topping the list of incorruptible civil servants Uganda has ever boasted of, Dr. John Mitala reportedly passed on this evening at Masaka referral Hospital where, he had been rushed from his home of Kamwaokya in Kalungu. This sad development, after a four-month long fight against a cocktail of strange ailments, a family source offered as a result of a foul play.

Close family members and friends we talked to for purposes of this vile report said they were not contented with what took their own. A pile of speculations lies on our investigative desk. But to the true meaning of the words `speculations` and `investigative,` verification is key. A family man with two official homes, Mitala served as the Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet for nineteen straight years.

He retired last year during a Permanent Secretaries` reshuffle President Museveni announced on July 15^th2021. “Your outstanding performance will be remembered for a very long time in the Public Service of Uganda and generally in the East African Community. You have exhibited the highest qualities of a civil servant – a true proponent of the civil service and code of ethics. Many Ugandans believe that serving in a public office means enriching oneself with quick monies. However, for the time that I have known you, sir, I have not heard your name in any public scandal. I want you, and request you to maintain this level of integrity for the remaining part of your service to humanity,” said Milly Babalanda, the Minister for Presidency.

Babalanda made these remarks at the Office of the President during a function where, Dr. John Mitala handed over office to his replacement in Lucy Nakyobe, the hitherto State House Comptroller. By the time he retired, Mitala had served in Public Service for forty-eight years. He joined the civil service on May 25^th 1973 in the ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development where, he served for 19 years.

He later served as Deputy Head of the Public Service Commission and Judicial Service Commission, then as Deputy Head of Public Service and Secretary for Administration from 1998 up to 2002 when, he was appointed as the Head of the Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet, a position he held to his formal retirement.

Additional report sourced from The Observer