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I Didn’t Solicit for Handshake – Kagina

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Former Commissioner General Uganda Revenue Authority Mrs Allen Kagina (URA) has distanced herself from the accusations made against most of the government officials involved in the Shs. 6Billion Presidential Handshake; that they solicited for this reward from President Museveni after they recovered over $700million in tax arrears from oil companies Heritage and Tullow.

Kagina told Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) that while she was happy to be part of those that were rewarded for the triumph; she was not directly involved in negotiating the reward.

Kagina, who now heads the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), clarified to the committee members that she was not part of the meeting at President Museveni’s country home in Rwakitura, which discussed the Shs 6billion reward.

She revealed however, that she had prior knowledge to the reward as the President had earlier hinted on it.

“I was not in the meeting that discussed the handshake in Rwakitura, but I did know about the reward which was being discussed,” said Kagina.

“Before that meeting, after the ruling on the jurisdiction matter, April 2013, (where URA floored Heritage in Kampala and won Shs. 430million), there was a headline in the papers on the ruling.

“The following day, the president called me and congratulated me and my team and said I should meet him at Rwakitura.”

Kagina says she traveled to Rwakitura, together with the then URA head of Legal Doris Akol and Ali Sekatawa and met President Museveni, who thanked and promised to reward them.

“He said he would give us a reward. The words he used were ‘I will do something for you.’”

Meanwhile, on the question of how the team of 42 was selected to benefit from the 6billion, Kagina also told the committee that she was not part of this process as she had already left URA at the time of the selection.

Asked by members on the appropriateness of the reward, Kagina said she was happy to receive the Shs. 100million, adding that different people would have different opinions on what should have been done for the team.

“Personally, I was happy with the monetary reward. For a person to have preference on whether it should have been a medal or money, or any other gift is a personal decision,” she said.

Kagina today appeared before COSASE together with KCCA Executive Director Jenifer Musisi and former Energy Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Kabagambe Kaliisa.

At the time of the legal battle between Uganda and the oil companies, Kagina was the Commissioner General of URA, which insisted on taxing the 10% profit that Heritage was gaining as it sold its assets to Tullow.

On her role in the legal battle, Kagina said she among others provided leadership to the URA’s legal and tax teams which were on the case.

“I advised the tax team to study the transaction and to be convinced that it was taxable, because it was the first time that we were taxing an oil transfer of interest,” she said.

“I also participated in the inter-institutional meetings that negotiated with Heritage and Tullow, and was also a key witness in the Tax Appeals Tribunal together with Moses Kajubi, (the commissioner domestic taxes), Ernest Rubondo (commissioner petroleum) and a tax officer Robinah Nakakawa.


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