The Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating two of its top officials who allegedly connived with a foreign company to procure 540000 machine readable passports against the government’s directive.
The two officials who have since been interdicted by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Mr. Benon Mitambi are identified as Nicholas Ongodia, the Commissioner of Passports and Citizenship and Josephine Ekwanga, the commissioner in charge of legal who also acted as Director Immigrations following the sacking of Godfrey Sasaga on the President’s orders.
According to information obtained by this website, through the guidance of the Solicitor General, Ministry of Foreigner under Immigrations docket resolved to phase out ordinary passports and adopt electronic ones.
A foreign firm had been approached to supply the E-passports until the Ministry’s top officials learnt of procurement deal of 54000 passports sanctioned my Mr. Ongodia and Ekwanga.
“This was against the positions of the Ministers and Permanent Secretary. The Ministry through Mr. Mutambi had announced how Uganda would migrate from ordinary to electronic by January next year,” said a source.
A source added that the duo had connived with the old company which the Ministry was using to print and supply paper passports.
The Permanent Secretary left with no option had to interdict Ongodia and Ekwang until the investigations are over.
While they step aside, the two are not allowed to leave the country and will continue receiving half salary.
“When investigations are done and they are exonerated, they will resume work, if they are implicated we will take action,” PS Mitambi told this website when contacted.
He however denied the interdiction was endorsed by the President like he ordered the firing of two powerful officials at the Ministry in March this year.
