Wildlife Bosses Linked to Bribe Allegations
Gerald Tenywa
10 August 2010


Kampala — TOP Uganda Wildlife Authority bosses were suspended on the basis of e-mails sent by a senior of¬ficial soliciting for a bribe from two investors. Among the bosses on forced leave is the head of the authority, Moses Mapesa.

The e-mails reportedly originated from James Omoding, the conservation coordinator. He is accused of writing to Albrecht Oettingen and Christian Weth, asking for $3,000 (sh6m) as inducement, sources close to the probe said yesterday.

Mapesa and Sam Mwandha, the director for conservation, were suspended on Monday partly because they allegedly treated Omoding leniently.

Rather than face a fresh probe by the board, Omoding preferred to resign on July 30.

The e-mails were written between July 7, 2008 and July 10, when the two companies were negotiating for sport hunting contracts in Pian Upe, Amudat and east Madi reserves.

"I received e-mail correspondences between you and the partners, detailing negotiations and acknowledging receipt of $3,000," said Mapesa in a letter of April 6, 2008.

"This is to demand a formal explanation over the cash transactions. Should your explanation not be satisfactory, you will face the disciplinary committee of the board."

Omoding responded in a letter of May 11, 2009.

He admitted receiving the money, but said it was payment for consultancy work he did for Oettingen.

"He had to pay for my services. I used my free time to render them my services," Omoding said.

On the money from Weth, he noted: "This was a personal arrangement between Weth and me." He said the Weths were family friends.

"I had financial difficulties, so I asked him to give me a loan," he added.

Mapesa answered back, saying taking money at the time the men were negotiating for contracts did not rule out a possible conflict of interest or abuse of office.


He added: "Although I am con¬fident that you did not influence the contract awards, you could have indirectly received a reward for a favourable decision to the concerned parties, which is still improper. Your explanation is, therefore, acceptable, but stand warned."

Two months ago, a new board headed by Dr. Boysier Oumar Muballe was appointed and the matter resurrected.

In turn, Mapesa wrote to Omod¬ing asking him to cooperate "in an honest manner should the investi¬gations be instituted" .

Instead, Omoding threw in the towel, citing personal reasons. However, Muballe told New Vision on Monday that Omoding resigned due to the ongoing investigations.

Bribes? In Africa? Who would have thought.

Shocking!

Is Obama there also?

Is thir bag man Joe Biden?

Raff

I am sure Carl Rove & his mates are involved at the heart of it.

Next crook in line please step forward.

Dave,
You have never seen this kind of thing in Africa before have you!!!

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:


Is Obama there also?

Actually...he is...in spirit anyway. I don't think I have seen as many pro-Obamer t-shirts anywhere even during the election as I did in Uganda.

They believe he was "the next coming"!!!

quote:

Originally posted by M16:
Shocking!

This shocks the hell out of me.

Investigations, resignations, suspensions?!

This is unheard of in EA. Usual course of action involves the boss showing up and the worker who accepted the bribe hands the bribe money over. The boss then gives back a small portion to the worker and pockets the rest.

More Top Wildlife Bosses Suspended
Gerald Tenywa
12 August 2010


Kampala — The scandal at the Uganda Wildlife Authority is not waning soon. Three more top officials at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) have been suspended to pave way for an audit report.

They are Eunice Mahoro, the director of tourism development, Joseph Tibaijuka, the acting executive director, and Olive Kyampaire, the partnership coordinator. This brings to five the number of UWA officials on suspension. Moses Mapesa, the executive director, and Sam Mwandha, the director for conservation, were sent on forced leave earlier this week. Two others resigned last month.

Asked why he was sending Tibaijuka away days after naming him acting executive director, Dr. Boysier Ouma Muballe, the UWA chairperson, said: "Tibaijuka is the director of finance and it was not appropriate for him to be there acting as the executive director." "We had to send him away until investigations are over in the next three to four weeks. This could be followed by a commission of inquiry. The audit report will guide us on what steps to take," Muballe added.


He named Mark Kamanzi as the new acting executive director. Muballe vowed that no stone would be left unturned until what he described as chaos at UWA is sorted out. He said he had camped at UWA for the last two months to ensure that the organisation is run efficiently. Muballe noted that UWA had been hit by irregular creation of departments and mismanagement of funds, among other problems.

However, sources within UWA said confusion and tension had crept into the authority as staff at the headquarters fear that they might also be affected. The sources added that Muballe's intervention had created more problems than it was intended to solve. UWA was set up by the wildlife Act in 1996 and manages 10 national parks, 12 wildlife reserves and 14 wildlife sanctuaries, covering 10% of the country.

These peple are amateurs. Spend some time in Mexico.

At times like these, one must round up the usual suspects.