Col. Edith Nakalema, a powerful and trusted aide of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has for the first time spoken about the genesis of her bitter relationship with Tamale Mirundi, a Presidential advisor on media affairs.
They both worked in State House before Mirundi was sacked as Presidential spokesperson while Nakalema, a highly trained SFC soldier was Museveni’s Personal Assist until she was sent to UK military academy and upon return in 2018, she was appointed the Head of State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
A unit which has made tremendous job in curbing corruption despiste limited resources.
While Mr Mirundi has turned Nakalema into daily fodder for abuses on several media platforms for over 5 years now, she is never moved and the daily insults don’t deter her zeal to serve the country with diligence.
Because of consistently attacking Nakalema, the public has since interrogated Mirundi’s motive particularly the allegations of corruption against Nakalema yet the President entrusted her with a docket to investigate the corrupt.
Therefore, Mirundi has been perceived as venturing into vendetta because he has never come to terms with the manner how the President replaced him as Press Secretary.
In an interaction with Col. Nakalema at her office in Kampala on Tuesday, she hinted on the genesis of her troubles with Mirundi way back in 2015.
“I stood my ground and told the President face to face that I will not work with this abusive man. And that is how he was replaced,” Nakalema said.
But what had Tamale Mirundi committed that sparked off anger prompting Nakalema told assure the principal why she wouldn’t work with Mirundi.
“I remember in 2015, I was the Personal Assistant to the President, and that day I was sitting in for the PPS. And Tamale Mirundi accused me of eating money. I said what! I went to the President and told him that I wouldn’t work with this man,” she added.
In what seems to be downplaying Mirundi’s baseless allegations, the President has since elevated Nakelama to higher positions.
Nakalema is born again officer of UPDF who has served in tempting positions but she maintains that leadership is a calling and she puts her country first.
While heading the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU), Nakalema has investigated wealthy Ugandans and government officials who could have attempted to wet her beak, but she told this website that no amount of money can blindfold her.
Achievements of ACU
Since inception on 10th December 2018, the Unit has in liaison with the Criminal Investigations Department of Uganda Police and other constitutionally mandated agencies, carried out several anti-corruption investigations and caused the charging of several persons before the Courts of Law.
The Unit has so far coordinated investigations on corruption related offences in the Central Government (Ministries, Departments and Agencies), Local Governments and the Private Sector.
Investigations conducted so far are worth shs 250bn out of which she 20.63bn has been saved as follows: she 8.65bn from inflated COVID 19 Gov’t relief food prices; UGX 3.6bn from inflated compensation of Bukasa Inland Port Project Affected Persons (PAPs) and the increased profitability of Post Bank Uganda to UGX. 8.38bn.
Cash recoveries totaling to shs 1.738bn: shs 738m from officials of the Gaming and Lotteries Board and 1bn extorted by some of the labour externalization/export companies from youth seeking domestic jobs in Arab countries.
Working with the Police, SH-ACU has also arraigned 225 persons before Courts of law, these include; a Member of Parliament, a Permanent Secretary, 02-Chief Executive Officers, 02-Secretaries of Commissions, a number of Directors, Commissioners, Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) and Town Clerks among others.
Of these 180 are public officers and were interdicted from Public Service, 20 have already been convicted and sentenced. Additionally, 15 police officers have so far been investigated on different charges. And lastly, 45 private companies/individuals are currently being investigated.
The Unit has coordinated the return of twenty six (26) Ugandans who were living in dehumanizing conditions in some Arab Countries (Oman, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia) and we also coordinated the repatriation of six (06) dead bodies of Ugandans who died under unclear circumstances in those Countries.
Additionally, ACU has been coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign affairs the return of Ugandans stranded in the above Arab countries.
The Unit also intervened in matters where Ordinary Citizens suffer high handedness and injustices.
To this extent, Nakalema intervened in the murders that occurred in Kisimbiri Town Council-Wakiso, Nabingola-Mubende, Luwanda-Jinja and Kitezi-Wakiso; theft and swapping of babies and large scale land grabbing matters.