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Citizen Posts
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A whistle blower has written to the IGG protesting the circumstances under which Medard Bitekyerezo is being prepared to take oath and get inaugurated to carry on as governing board chairman at National Drug Authority (NDA).
The whistle blower, in his four-page petition to the IGG and other investigating offices, claims that there is a group of powerful actors both in UNBS and MAAIF who have been conniving to keep Biteks around as NDA boss so that they continue frustrating the proposed strengthening of NDA as per the 28th October cabinet directive 2024.
The whistle blower also complains as to why NDA continues to have a board of 20 people instead of the mere 7-9 which would be ideal under the WHO recommendations for such regulatory agencies, globally.
Quoting Gen Museveni’s November 2024 directive that defeated politicians and political failures shouldn’t be prioritized when constituting such boards, the whistle blower brands Bitekyerezo ineligible for retention as board chairman on grounds that he has already done three terms totaling to 9 years.
That his reappointment to do another three years, making a total of 12 years up to 2029, is inappropriate because he has served for too long yet he is conflicted for being also a governing board member at National Medical Stores (NMS) over which NDA has supervisory authority.
The whistle blower wonders how Bitekyerezo can be tough on NMS bosses for failing to tame failure to stop theft and disappearance of medicines meant for government health facilities when he is a member of their governing board. That Bitekyerezo latest reappointment wasn’t processed properly because there was no cabinet approval besides the fact that the three agencies supposed to nominate reps weren’t adequately consulted.
Cabinet is supposed to deploy three reps besides the two reps of the public. CID Director Dr. Tom Magambo is also supposed to sit on NDA board but he wasn’t included on the new list. UMA representative Dr. Ekwaro Obuku has also been excluded, leaving Uganda Medical Association unrepresented on the new board.
The whistle blower adds that even the mandatory security vetting and Interpol clearance plus the certificate of financial implications from the finance ministry, were this time round not obtained prior to the reappointment of Bitekyerezo and others to do another three years at the helm of NDA.
The whistle blower also claims that Biteks is emotionally unfit to head a very important and serious entity like NDA and refers to the bipolar disorders-related circumstances under which he was removed from being chairman of Parliament’s health affairs committee.
He also accuses him of personally ensuring that Patrick Okema was recruited to serve as the head of PDU at NDA simply because he is a brother to someone very powerful at one of the corruption investigating agencies under the government of Uganda.
That Bitekyerezo has always been bragging to staff and fellow board members who dare object to any of his ideas how that powerful actor in the IGG’s is always a phone call away from him. This too has to be inquired into.
That he keeps telling and intimidating disgruntled insiders in NDA that there is nothing the IGG can ever do to him for as long as that powerful lady remains part of the top decision-making organs at the IG.
That he also always uses Okema to spy on other top management members at NDA, on top of always bragging how no one can ever end his board headship because he used his position as board chairman to organize campaign funding for some powerful ministers in Museveni’s government.
This is false information and also very dangerous for the impugned ministers’ reputation. The whistle blower also accuses Bitekyerezo of always using the president’s name to scare and silence board members who try to oppose his ideas.
The whistle blower also accuses the board chairman of hijacking billions meant to facilitate work of the investigations department at NDA and other important activities.
That Bitekyerezo freely brags how he was able to use his powerful connections to kill the criminal investigations the IGG had commenced into the fraudulent procurement of laboratory equipment at NDA sometime back. That Bitekyerezo also keeps demanding that no one at NDA should ever question Patrick Okema on anything because the big person at the Inspectorate connection makes him indispensable at the Authority.
The whistle blower also claims existence of a sex scandal which everyone only whispers about inside NDA. He claims that a certain board member is always protecting and flattering a certain lady in the Authority’s quality management directorate because she is his girlfriend.
This lady is these days very powerful and even sits in board meetings though she isn’t a member and a few weeks ago bought a house of Ugx700m in Lubowa from where she enjoys steamy romps with the board member. This powerful lady is famous for seducing powerful men into sleeping with her.
The whistle blower further claims that Bitekyerezo is conflicted and shouldn’t continue heading NDA because he sits on the Uganda country coordinating mechanism committee of the Global Fund, for which he is also the board chairman for Uganda.
That quite often, some of the Global Fund products coming into Uganda are found wanting after failing the mandatory quality tests but the NDA management is forced to release the same well knowing its harmful to the health of innocent Ugandans. The whistle blower demands criminal prosecution of some NDA bosses over this issue.
In the end, the whistle blower urges the IGG to quash the reappointment of Bitekyerezo to continue serving as NDA board chairman and the Uganda dental association representative Muhammed Mbabali, who like Bitekyerezo, has been on the NDA board since 2017. This makes it 9 years comprising three terms, each of three years.
