The Central Bank security team almost roughed up former Deputy Governor Dr. Louis Kasekende after he was found in possession of vital documents belonging to the bank.
Kasekende, according to a source in Bank of Uganda (BoU) had cleaned his office of personal belonging as his contract came to and end Friday.
With no hope of renewal, the embattled official handed a huge bag to his bodyguard and ordered him to take it to the car since he was following him before he could bid farewell to all the staff.
A source said that as Kasekende’s escort descended from the second floor of the premises, he was intercepted by security at the main door way.
“Security didn’t want to make the same mistake where they let former director of Supervision Justine Bagyenda walk away with unchecked luggage which later turned that she had moved away with vital banks related to sale of defunct banks,” said a source.
Upon ransacking the huge bag, security retrieved two files relating to some dealings involving the Central Bank and Office of the Prime (OPM) scandal that saw principal accountant Geoffrey Kazinda jailed for over 17 years.
He is still in Luzira serving the sentence.
It must be noted that Bank of Uganda and Ministry of Finance were accomplices in the scam.
As security threatened to detain Kasekende’s bodyguard, he was left with no choice but to call his boss who was still seeing off the staff.
As he intervened, Kasekende demanded answers where the VVIP Police detectives had got permission to check the “Deputy Governor’s” bag.
“He was reminded that he was never the Deputy Governor as his contract had expired,” adds a source.
The no nonsense security men gave him to options to stay with the files and he is “taken in” or to hand over the documents.
Accordingly, security replayed CCTV cameras from the point when Kasekende gave the body guard the luggage up to the security point at exit which showed that the files had been inserted into bag by Dr. Kasekende himself.
Security retained the two files before they handed over the other documents to his guard to proceed his way out of the bank.
Joyce Okello- Kasekende Cold War
Executive Director/Executive Assistant to the Governor Bank of Uganda Ms Joyce Okello, wife to State Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of International Relations, Okello Oryem is one such person Kasekende will never forget in his life. Sources at BoU reveal that Kasekende blames all his trouble of not being granted an extension/ renewal to Ms. Okello to whom it is claimed pushed hard to make sure he doesn’t remain at BoU. Sources further say that Kasekende alleges that Ms Okello fought out in order to be appointed as his replacement.
Sources further reveal that at one time a fight almost broke out when a clique of senior staff who are pro Kasekende and another which is pro Mutebile/ Okello. The pro Kasekende clique that had some elements of disgruntled staff who were aligned to former Executive Director in charge of Supervision Justine Bagyenda wanted to rough up Ms Okello claiming she is responsible for misleading the governor and sideline Kasekende from getting information from his boss.
Kasekende tried without any success to have his contract renewed or extended. He first sent former Minister of Finance, Gerald Ssendaula and other clerics to meet President Yoweri Museveni at his country home in Rwakitura with a view of requesting him to extend it. Subsequently he turned to Mr. Keith Muhakanizi, the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury and Finance Minister Matia Kasaija persuading them to prevail upon President Museveni to have his contract renewed but the two didn’t do much as they feared it would backfire.
However, with no response, Kasekende shifted his lobbying to a top Catholic prelate in Kampala but the presidency handlers refused to enlist him with Kasekende for a meeting because their agenda wasn’t clear. Towards the second week of January, he allegedly tried the Vice Presidency but it did not yield fruits before he was crafted by two city lawyers to have him meet the Kabaka of Buganda so as to use the royal family lobby for him but his contract came to an end before any of the schemes could yield fruits for him.