Kayunga, (UG):- Uganda’s State Minister for Finance (Planning), Hon Amos Lugoloobi has opened up on how luck was on his side to be retained as minister after two of his counterparts in the Mabaati scandal were dropped by President Museveni in last month’s cabinet reshuffle.
Lugoloobi, who is also the Ntenjeru North County MP in Kayunga District linked his survival to “passing through the eye of a needle.”
“Some people think it was easy for me to return to cabinet. I want to tell you that it was very hard,” said Lugoloobi on Sunday, April 07, 2024, during the annual Kabaka Birthday Run in Kayunga Town where he was the chief runner.
“I thank President Museveni for shaming the devil by retaining me in the cabinet,” he added, attracting a thunderous applause from the supporters.
The minister attributed his reappointment to being “trustworthy,” adding that him being dropped from the cabinet would imply the electorates of Ntenjeru North are dropped.
“My reappointment was a sign of confidence in me by the appointing authority. Some people think when one is appointed in the cabinet he has landed in wealth but what is important is being trustworthy.”
Lugoloobi was the only minister retained of the three who faced court charges over the alleged diversion of iron sheets meant for the vulnerable people in the Karamoja Sub-region.
The other two; Dr Mary Goretti Kitutu and her deputy, Agnes Nandutu, both ministers of Karamoja Affairs were both dropped, while other government officials implicated in the saga such as Finance Minister Matia Kasaija and Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, were never summoned or charged before the court.
Lugoloobi, however, still faces corruption charges of dealing with suspect property contrary to Section 21 A of the Anti-Corruption Act as amended before the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala.
Govt plans for Kayunga
Minister Lugoloobi used the same occasion of the run to assure the electorate of Kayunga that government is still committed to tarmac the Kayunga-Galilaaya Road, and that the project has already been contracted to a Chinese firm which is set to come up with a road design.
The development comes after residents in the Bbaale constituency have protested over the government’s failure to fulfil Museveni’s 2011 pledge of tarmacking the 89-kilometre road on several occasions.
Lugollobi was on Sunday joined by the NRM District Chairperson for Kayunga, Mr Moses Kalangwa, who urged locals to protect themselves from HIV/Aids, per the theme of this year’s run. Kalangwa also called on residents to observe peace and unity if the area is to develop.
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