Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Kuteesa is either a very patriotic Ugandan or he is filthy rich. This is after it emerged that the minister has in the past used his own money to pay government taxes.

Kuteesa says he used his Ushs151m in 2007, to pay taxes for the Ministry of Health. And now almost three years down the road, the ministry is still struggling to make a refund.

After- Kuteesa says- demanded for the refund countless times, he has now moved to court, so he can get back his money. And of course with interest and money he would incur on prosecuting his own employer.

Kuteesa says he made the tax payments, when his Entebbe Handling Services (ENHAS) reportedly handled Global Fund Cargo at Entebbe Airport, for which the ministry of Health never paid VAT taxes as they were obliged to do.

Global Fund is the famous project where donor countries aided Uganda with HIV and malaria drugs plus cash, big chunks of which, reportedly ended up in pockets of several top government officials, now facing resultant charges in court.

When the Ministry of Health- which was then a docket under Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi with Capt. Michael Mukula and Dr. Alex Kamugisha as his juniors- failed to clear the taxes, Kuteesa claims his cargo handling firm did so, in the hope that the Ministry would reimburse him.

On Kuteesa's instructions, Kasirye, Byaruhanga and Company Advocates are now pursuing the refund from the Commercial Division of the High Court. The court's registrar Gladys Nakibuule Kisseka sent out summons to the Attorney General notifying him of the suit and also demanding the government's response to its minister's charges. blog comments powered by Disqus

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