Beti Kamya has cleared the former Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Mr. Richard Byarugaba, of illegally approving a Shs5 billion payment to two board members and staff who retired voluntarily.
KAMPALA, UGANDA | NOW THEN DIGITAL — The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Ms Beti Kamya, has cleared Mr Richard Byarugaba, the former managing director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), of illegally approving a Shs5 billion payment to two board members and voluntarily retiring staff.
Ms Kamya, who earlier instructed Mr Byarugaba and the chief financial officer, Henry Mwanje, to reimburse the money, has now advised the Fund to use the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy to recover the amount within six months.
In a letter dated September 20, Ms Kamya stated that Mr Byarugaba, an ex-officio member of the Fund’s board of directors following an amendment to the NSSF Act in 2022, had implemented decisions in line with the board’s resolutions.
“Richard Byarugaba implemented the two board decisions as a principal signatory to the Fund together with the CFO, Mwanje, by authorising payment of a total of Shs5.08 billion as compensation to two board members that exited and staff who retired from NSSF under the voluntary retirement scheme,” the letter affirmed.
The inspectorate noted, “It is, therefore, reasonable to say that both Byarugaba and Mwanje, were implementing decisions of the board. The board, on their part, were driven by the need to operationalise an amendment of the NSSF Act of 2022 and the consultant’s (Deloitte and Touche) recommendation to downsize the staff levels for improved performance.”
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Mr Mwine Mpaka, the Mbarara South MP who chaired the parliamentary probe committee scrutinizing matters at the Fund, stated, “We asked the Minister of Gender to provide substantive evidence backing her allegations against Byarugaba and she failed to provide them. That’s why we referred this case to the IGG and DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) for further investigation.”
Ms Kamya’s decision follows Mr Byarugaba’s appeal in a July 13 letter, asserting his innocence.
Mr Byarugaba welcomed the IGG’s decision, stating that he would utilize it as evidence in court. “I am very happy and excited that I have been vindicated. I only did that in my official capacity [and] this demonstrates that the cases against me were to frame me and deny me my job,” he said.
