Gashumba gets last laugh as police detains PLU nemesis Mawanda

The happiest man on this earth must be Frank Gashumba apparently. This follows the arrest of his colleague at the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Michael Mawanda.

It also started last month when Gashumba, PLU’s Deputy Chairman posted on his X handle accusing Security Agencies of sleeping on the job and yet insecurity was spiraling out of control in Kampala City.

In that post, Gashumba tagged General Muhoozi among other Security Chiefs saying if the mighty UPDF that fought Al Shabaab in Somalia why can’t it fight these unarmed thugs.

He also advised Security Chiefs to resign if these small boys can defeat them.

Michael Mawanda Member Of Parliament for Igara East Bushenyi District, also chairperson of PLU Disciplinary Committee wrote to Gashumba to appear before PLU’s Disciplinary committee arguing that the latter’s outburst in the Media had brought disrepute to PLU’s Chairman, General Muhoozi.

Gashumba did not take this well and reminded Mawanda. He reminded Mawanda of the clean hands doctrine which is based on the maxim of equity of “he who comes into equity must come with clean hands.”

Gashumba told off Mawanda to first give his version of events to Police’s CID in regard to a recent Cooperatives Shs 164bn cash probe where his name was mentioned.

“By the way, tell us, when will you appear before CID for corruption and theft of Cooperatives money meant for compensation of poor people to the tune of Shs164billion,” Gashumba ranted.

Reports now indicate that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has placed Igara County MP Michael Mawanda under formal arrest.

Mawanda earlier on Wednesday appeared at CID headquarters in Kibuli where he was grilled by detectives over his involvement in the financial mismanagement of war loss compensation funds paid to cooperatives.

Mawanda was summoned alongside his Elgon County counterpart, Nyasio Mudimi Wamakuyu over the matter.

However, at around 6:30pm, Mawanda was driven in a police van and escorted by heavily-armed counter terrorism personnel to Nateete Police Station.

The hand-cuffed lawmaker was led by police to a detention centre where he is expected to spend the night.

Mawanda was involved in the West Mengo Growers Cooperative Society.

The cooperative union had decided to engage JM Musisi and Co. Advocates to claim over Shs 14bn from the Ministry of Trade in compensation for losses suffered by its members in Uganda’s past civil wars.

However, Mawanda, who was not a shareholder in the cooperative union, guided the SACCO to engage the services of a city law firm known as M/S Justin Mungoma and Co. Advocates in pursuing the claims.

The Ministry of Trade released Shs 2bn for the SACCO through the law firm recommended by Mawanda.

Interestingly, only Shs 50m reached the intended beneficiaries.

Muusa Bagala, the accountant of West Mengo Growers Cooperative Society told the Parliament committee chaired by Mwine Mpaka that upon receiving reports that Shs 2bn had been sent to the Sacco, he walked to Mawanda’s office at Parliament.

“When we asked Hon Mawanda about the compensation of Shs 2bn, he suggested a Shs 50m token to the SACCO’s leaders,” said Bagala, adding that this money was received from lawyers of M/S Justin Mungoma and Co. Advocates at KCB Bank in Kampala.