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Mengo dismisses accountability questions over Kasubi Tombs
Monitor’s Twitter link to the disputed report
The Mengo administration has dismissed as false, reports by the Monitor Newspaper that it owes money to the US government, which it allegedly failed to account for. The newspaper, through its online edition, says that Mengo failed to account for up to US$250,000 (About UGX475m).
Below is a Facebook Reaction by Noah Kiyimba, who is the Minister of Information in Buganda Kingdom.
The Kingdom of Buganda doesn’t owe the US Embassy in Kampala any money
The US Embassy in Kampala awarded the Kingdom of Buganda a grant of US$5,000 (Shs14,935,000 at the time) several years ago. The money was meant for an information board at the Kasubi Royal Tombs.
The grant by the US Embassy in Kampala was supposed to be utilized within a specific timeframe. This wasn’t possible mainly due to the ongoing works at the tombs. In order to fulfil the terms of the grant, the Kingdom of Buganda refunded the money on January 12, 2017 and was issued with an official receipt.
Some people have been feeding the media with wrong information using forged documents that the Kingdom of Buganda owes the US Embassy in Kampala a lot of money. The Kingdom of Buganda doesn’t owe any money to the US Embassy in Kampala and the two institutions enjoy a cordial working relationship.
The US Embassy Spokesman issued the response below to that effect:
“The U.S. Embassy in Kampala provided financial assistance to the Buganda Kingdom several years ago for a cultural preservation project at the Kasubi tombs. Unfortunately, kingdom officials were unable to use the money for the project by the specified project end date. In accordance with standard procedures, we asked for the money to be returned, and kingdom officials returned the money. The U.S. government supports the preservation of cultural heritage around the world, and we look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with the Buganda Kingdom as well as other kingdoms in Uganda and other cultural institutions on projects in the future.” Phil Dimon, Spokesman US Embassy in Kampala.
Noah Kiyimba
Minister of Information, Protocol and Kingdom Spokesman
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