Ti OPINION: The arrest and aligning before court, of Uganda`s Accountant General (AG), Lawrence Ssemakula have jammed to wear away in the cores of Ugandans at Heart. Ssemakula was arrested a fortnight ago, alongside his several departmental staff members, over the infamous UGX60Bn heist scandal.
The swiftness with which CID moved to slap criminal charges onto his name before being arrested, and the same published allover both mainstream and social media, has left many questions unreciprocated, especially that he was seen by many of his caliber, as a clean man who was eagerly looking forward to his retirement come December this year.
Whereas he has hitherto been the overall supervisor of the Accountant General`s Office (AGO), by the financial year when the heist was committed, he had long relinquished the position of Accounting Officer for Vote 130 – Treasury Operations, where the target funds originated, to one of Permanent Secretary Ramathan Ggoobi`s blue-eyed staffers, Jeniffer Muhuruzi! He therefore, couldn’t be accountable for a function not under his direct jurisdiction, or so, many still believe.
In these pages lies a story where, a similar incident happened in January 2024 and Ssemakula brought the issue to Ggoobi`s attention, recommending for action to cap the gaps. Moreover, this memo couldn’t be traced anywhere in the ministry. But trust us! We have since landed on it and which, upon receipt, Ggoobi put a minute for his secretary thus; “Noted” … “File” … Yes, he wrapped it with a command for the same to instead be filed without any attempt to address the matter therein!
But Ssemakula didn’t rest low… Also in our possession is a letter dated February 7th 2024 by him, addressed to the Director Banking at the Central Bank (Bank of Uganda). Here, he was further raising the same issue where, a file containing four transactions worth USD21,673,336.21, was processed on January 24th 2024, but one of them was bounced with unclear reasons. This development, to Ssemakula, was not a light one and hence his letter to BoU.
“A review of the swift message provided by the bank (read BoU) indicates that beneficiary account information for this specific payment differs from the swift messages for payments processed before and after,” he wrote, before attaching the swift messages for the two payments to the same beneficiary processed earlier on January 24th 2024 and February 1st as well as the extract from the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS).
“The purpose of this letter is therefore, to request that you investigate this issue and establish the cause of this anomaly,” Ssemakula signed off his letter. Indeed, the Central Bank reportedly `investigated` the matter and wrote back to him, watering down all his worries as a mere instruction error. “It appears the settlement instruction errors occurred before the file was digitally signed and were not identified during manual verification at the MoFPED,” wrote back the Ag. Director Banking at the Centra Bank, Cynthia Nakayiza Sekirembeka (Mrs.) on February 21st 2024.
For starters, this is the much-said earlier transaction which Ssemakula tried to raise but in vain! And the same whose identical sister (of UGX60Bn) returned over a year later, to be used to haunt his entire Directorate. This gives credence to mafioso critics who maintain that Ssemakula`s nemesis instead used the same format to get at him. “Probably what happened then was their `trial` on how they would finally bring him down. Otherwise, how would you explain Ggoobi`s trashing of his (Ssemakula`s) concern and the BoU watering the same down!” one of the critics wondered.
Given the above developments, we were persuaded to dig deeper, and acquaint ourselves with reasons why, a man who have risen through his professional ranks to become the Country`s number one Accountant, and whose retirement was just less than a year down the lane, would commit an anomaly, similar to the same he tried to stop and instead got frustrated by his colleagues!
Lawrence Ssemakula The Man
Born fifty nine (59) years ago to Mzee Paul Bamugaya aka Mzee Kakere, and Mrs. Arafayiriina Kyakurugayi Nyamurwa Bamugaya of Kyakabunda village, Buheera Parish, Ryeru Sub County in Rubiriizi District, Bunyaruguru region, Ssemakula has until his arrest a fortnight ago, been the Accountant General of Uganda, the position he first held in Acting position since January 2013.
Unlike some of his senior colleagues at the Finance Ministry who haven’t delt with huge volumes of money for less than five years, he has spent most of his time as an accountant, dealing with and protecting public funds. He joined the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in 2001 as Assistant Commissioner Accounts, in charge of Foreign Funds.
His profile, sourced from friends, relatives and colleagues indicate that in 2002, he was assigned the duties of Commissioner Treasury Officer of Accounts. In 2003, he was promoted to Commissioner Treasury Officer of Accounts and re-designated to Commissioner Accounts in 2005 to head the then newly created Department of Financial Management Services (FMS) under Accountant General’s Office (AGO).
Financial Management Services is the department directly charged with the implementation of Government Financial systems, such as Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), salary decentralization payment, and Treasury Single Account (TSA). Tried and tested with financial management issues, he was assigned as Acting Accountant General in 2013, before he was raised to be confirmed into the same position the following year, 2014.
Prior to joining mainstream Government, he had worked with Nile Hotel International, now Serena Kampala, for ten years, and at the Uganda Institute of Bankers as Financial Controller for one year. Ssemakula`s working in hospitality industry (Hotel) is attributed to his father, who was at the time of his graduation, a top manager at the Jinja-based Crested Cranes Hotel. He began working as a Financial Accountant with the then Nile Hotel and Conference LTD in 1990.
In 1993, he was made acting Chief Accountant before he was re-designated the Financial Controller in 1995. He has been a member and Fellow of Chartered Certified Accountants of UK for 19 years and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda. He holds an MBA from Heriot Watt University – Edinburgh Business School and Bachelors of Commerce (Accounting) from Makerere University.
Ssemakula has also undertaken specialized training in areas like; Debt Management from Harvard University Business School, Public Expenditure Management & Amp, Public Policy Management from Joint Africa Institute, and Strategy Policy Planning from International Centre for Parliamentary Studies in UK. He also holds other certificates in various areas of Public Financial management.
Long time friends and colleagues say that he played a leading role regarding various Public Finance Management (PFM) reform initiatives in the government of Uganda. “He chaired the Application Implementation work group under Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) and he was the task chair on the implementation of EFT, task chair on Treasury Single Account (TSA) and salary decentralization,” confirmed a senior officer at Finance Ministry last night.
Indeed, finance documents have him as one who was, in 2012, directly charged with the responsibility of reviewing the Public Financial systems with the aim of strengthening controls to address the then emerging weakness that were highlighted by various reviews from oversight bodies and development partners.
His rich profile unveils a man who has dedicated his professional whole to make various public finance management presentations at both home and away at international forums. To this effect, he boasts of several accolades attributed to being innovative, hardworking and good time-manager both from his workplace, community organizations and at his former schools.
This is the man, who`s amusing profile, the greedy mafioso have elected to soil, damage and eternally kill, moreover at the finishing line and in the evening moments of his pronounced career! Given his background in hospitality industry, Ssemakula is too, a businessman and oh, yes, a stinking rich hospitality businessman. Watch this space…
Author Profile
- Stanley Ndawula is a two and a half decades’ seasoned investigative journalist with a knack for serious crimes investigations and reporting. He’s the Founding Editorial Director and CEO at The Investigator Publications (U) Limited
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What makes such accusations stick when you have found evidence to exonerate him? And who is mafioso?
Thanks Stanley for giving us a clear detailed investigated information about the BoU scandal where the innocent man is being falsely charged. I think it’s time for us Ugandans to stand with him and we call upon the office of CID to do reinvestigation about the money heist
This journalist has been bribed to paint a good picture of Semakula who z a long-term thief. I have heard, variously how this accountant general has for a long time been swindling government money. His lifestyle in naguru, the cars his women drive, the international schools attended by his two sons etc. It’s just time for reckoning. Let him cool off at the shores.
You have ‘heard’….. spoken like the true brain-dead luddite that you are. He has been married to one woman for more than 40 years and is very famous for being a scrupulous family man, to those that actually know him and have not just ‘heard’ empty bar stories. He doesn’t have any sons, you dolt….and his known children have never attended international schools, although he can most definitely afford them. Please do some little research on how much the Accountant General of UG earns before you drink waraji and write nonsense. You think he is like you?
Thanks for the feedback, KK. Hope you feel better soon