COSASE Exonerates BOU’s Kasekende from MP Odonga Otto Property Allegations

The outgoing COSASE Chairperson, Abdu Katuntu, has written to Deputy Governor Bank of Uganda, Dr Louis Kasekende informing him that the committee disregarded documents presented by Aruu county MP Odonga Otto, against him, during their investigations in the closure of seven defunct banks by BOU.

During the probe on December 13, Odonga caused stalemate when he requested the Committee Chairperson to allow him table a list of properties owned by the Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor, Louis Kasekende.

As a result, he said “the documents show what is going on in these bank closures. I want to lay 72 properties belonging to the Deputy Governor, Louis Kasekende, 20 are in his personal names” Otto said.

Katuntu however constituted a three member sub-committee headed by COSASE Vice Chairperson, Anita Among and UPDF Representative Francis Takirwa as well as Kiruhura Woman, Sheila Mwine as members, to investigate and determine the relevancy and authenticity of the said documents.

Kasekende denied knowledge of the MP’s documents and petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to punish Otto for “defamation.”

Now, Katuntu says the sub-committee encountered a number of falsehoods in the documents and as a result, they were not admitted into evidence and expunged them from the record of Parliament.

“Of the 73 properties allegedly owned by you only thirteen belong to you by virtue of registration on title as proprietor and confirmation by yourself. Suffice to note that under section 59 of the registration of Titles Act, Cap 230 of the laws of Uganda, a certificate of title is conclusive proof of ownership,” notes Katuntu in a letter.

“The 60 other titles were registered in the names of other individuals who are strangers to the subject of the inquiry of the committee,” he adds.

Katuntu says that none of the properties owned by Kasekende were part of any portfolio as security of a closed financial institution and as such obtained as a result of a resolution process.

As he laid his documents on table in December, Otto also claimed that part of Kasekende’s property around Kampala was registered in the names in around Kampala were inappropriately transferred to a one Moses Musitwa purportedly his driver.

Katuntu who in this letter describes Musitwa as a real estate agent, says that titles registered in “Musitwa’s name were as a product of a 1.4 acre property sold in its entirety” by Kasekende to him.

He says that the reason why there are 14 land titles is that when Musitwa bought the land, he mutated it into small plots for sale.

Meanwhile, Katuntu presented the committee report over the sale of five defunct banks which include include International Credit Bank, Greenland Bank, Cooperative Bank, Global Trust Bank and National Bank of Commerce to Parliament on Thursday.

The House will start debate on the report on Tuesday.