Uganda ministers quit over graft
2012-02-16 22:31
Kampala - Two Ugandan ministers quit the government on Thursday over a $60m corruption scandal, the latest in a string of high-profile resignations prompted by graft allegations.
Syda Bbumba, who was the gender minister, and Khiddu Makubuya, the minister for general duties, stepped down after President Yoweri Museveni launched an investigation into graft claims.
"Both ministers have taken political responsibility and resigned... their resignations have been accepted by both the president and cabinet," government spokesperson Fred Opolot told AFP.
The pair are accused of inflating a compensation payment in 2010 to a city businessman, after the government cancelled his contracts to run markets around Kampala.
The move follows a call from ruling party legislators that the pair resign, although both Bbumba, a former finance minister, and Makubuya, a former attorney general, say they were acting on instructions from Museveni.
In October, three ministers, including foreign minister Sam Kutesa, stepped down after they were charged with fraud over a $4.8m deal to refurbish a hotel for the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala.
In December, minister for the presidency Kabakumba Masiko resigned over claims she diverted state-owned broadcasting equipment to her private radio station.