National Drug Authority (NDA) are stuck with their Head of Legal Services, one Mark Kamanzi who was recently fired but declined to leave office.
Mr Kamanzi was terminated by the Authority’s Board of Directors this week on June 6th, following two meetings on that day and on May 24th.
The letter signed by the new board chairman and former Mbarara MP Medard Bitekyerezo relieved Kamanzi of his duties without providing reasons why and ordered him to hand over office the Secretary to the Authority and the Head of Human Resource.
“National Drug Authority no longer requires your services as Head of Legal Services. As such, your services are hereby terminated with immediate effect in accordance with Section 19.5.2 of the NDA Human Resource Manual,” read part of the termination letter.
As per the letter, Mr Kamanzi was to be paid his June Salary, accrued annual leave days and gratuity.
The Head of Legal had held the office at NDA since January last year.
But on receiving the termination letter, Mr Kamanzi wrote back stating explicitly that he was going nowhere.
He latched on the fact that the board didn’t give reasons for his dismissal, to justify his defiance.
The termination letter, according to Kamanzi, was in breach of provisions of the same Authority Human Resource Manual.
“I reject service of this termination notice for reasons that no reason has been advanced for my dismissal,” he wrote back.
Chimpreports was unable to get a comment from Mr Kamanzi as he declined to pick our calls.
The Board Chairman Mr Bitekyerezo, when contacted, refused to comment, saying, “I cannot discuss board matters in the media.”
Bitekyerezo was appointed head of the 19 member NDA board in February this year, replacing Dr Sam Zaramba who went into retirement.
The National Drug Authority is among others charged with ensuring availability, at all times, of essential, efficacious and cost-effective drugs to the entire population of Uganda as a means of providing satisfactory healthcare and safeguarding the appropriate use of drugs.