At the center of attention earlier this year was a controversial topic - the Parliamentary Service Award. The Parliamentary Commission had extended a service award to former Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, and three backbench commissioners. The award amounted to a staggering Shs500 million in gratuity.
The decision sparked uproar among the public, with many questioning the legality and appropriateness of such a generous award. In the midst of the chaos, a letter purportedly from President Museveni surfaced, ordering a probe into the controversial service award. The letter raised questions about the legality of the award and drew parallels to the "primitive accumulation of wealth" seen during the regimes of Obote and Amin.
The revelation sent shockwaves through the chambers of Parliament and the nation at large. However, the excitement quickly turned to confusion and disbelief this morning when the Presidential Press Unit declared the letter as forged.
The nation was left in a state of uncertainty, with the authenticity of the service award and the integrity of the Presidency called into question.
The letter dated May 3, addressed to the Attorney-General, Mr. Kiryowa Kiwanuka, sought advice on the legality of the so-called service award, in which former Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mathias Mpuuga was given Shs500 million as gratuity in March 2022.
"When we were fighting Obote and Amin, we used to call it primitive accumulation of wealth," the purported President Museveni letter reads.
"Why? Officials under those regimes were trying to get for themselves as much money as possible in the quickest time possible, in the easiest way possible. We used to ask them, 'Where does this leave your country?'"
However, the Presidential Press Unit on Monday declared the letter as forged.
"The letter circulating on social media purportedly authored by the President on the subject of service awards to Parliamentary Commissioners is forged and should be ignored," the Presidency said.
State House's disowning of the widely publicized letter comes as a surprise to many, considering that a section of the Presidency staff had earlier confirmed the same with various media.
The brief statement did not indicate whether the Presidency was investigating the source of the now-controversial letter.
Instead, it leaves the nation in a cloud of confusion and casts doubt on the authenticity of various Presidency letters, as besides the digital signature and headed paper, they do not contain any official symbols.
The controversy surrounding the forged letter adds to the already existing tension in Uganda's political landscape and raises questions about the security of official communications from the Presidency.
