KAMPALA, UGANDA: President Museveni has donated the shs300 million court reward he got from Daily Monitor over a defamation story to building offices for his ruling NRM party.
The sh300m dummy cheque was presented by Museveni’s lawyer Mr Edwin Karugire to the NRM Secretariat leadership at a Thursday press conference at Plot 10, Kyadondo Road, Nakasero in Kampala.
Richard Todwong, the NRM Secretary General, commended the president for his generosity and commitment to the party, stating that the donation would be used to construct an NRM office building in Luweero district, where the party began its liberation struggle.
He also congratulated the president upon winning what he called “a battle” and emphasized the transparency of the legal system.
Todwong’s deputy, Ms Rose Namayanja expressed gratitude to the secretariat for choosing her area of Luweero for such a project and committed on behalf of the people of Luweero to avail the land for the construction.
The NRM National Treasurer, Amb. Barbara Nekesa thanked Mr Museveni, the national chairman for donating the money to the party and assured party members that the funds would be put to good use.
Other senior party officials at the Thursday event included; the NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson, Dr Tanga Odoi, the Deputy National Treasurer, Jacqueline Kyatuhaire, Director of Communications, Emmanuel Dombo, and Counsel Enoch Barata, the NRM Director of Legal Affairs.
Case Background
The High Court in November 2022 directed Daily Monitor to pay shs300 million in damages to President Museveni after the publication run a defamatory story on 23rd February 2021 titled Museveni ‘inner Circle’ Got Covid Jabs-US Paper.
In the now pulled-down story, Monitor claimed that Museveni and his family members secretly received jabs of China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine months ahead of health workers and other vulnerable groups in the country.
The NMG-owned newspaper further reported that the secret shots, masterminded by the Chinese government and meant to promote their vaccines, have also been reported in Peru and the Philippines.
Don Wanyama, who was then the senior press secretary to President Museveni, denied the allegation, saying the country is still waiting for doses of the vaccine and that when it comes, frontline workers will be prioritised.
“What do they mean by inner circle? It is not true, from the best of my knowledge, people in Uganda have not received the vaccine, at least not yet,” Mr Wanyama told the Daily Monitor then.
He added: “The President has made it clear that we expect doses of the vaccine soon and when it does, the criteria of who gets immunised first is known, starting with frontline workers, the more vulnerable, and then the rest. There is no category called inner circle.”
Asked then about the alleged action of Mr Museveni’s inner circle receiving Covid-19 vaccine secretly, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, said “There is no such a thing.”
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