Dragged to court in 2017, through its Lawyers Peter Kawuma of K and K Company Advocates, the Attorney General was also given a last opportunity to file a response defending an inquiry that was ordered by Muhakanizi into supplies by the National Medical Stores which have since expired without Muhakanizi’s defence.
The National Medical Stores (NMS) has asked the High Court in Kampala to judicially rein in Secretary to the Treasury Keith Muhakanizi, in a row over audit of medical supplies.
NMS told the court to enter an exparte judgement against Muhakanizi, who is also the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, saying he had failed to explain where he gets the powers to order a special audit into Uganda Cancer Institute.
Muhakanizi had ordered the special audit over the supply and distribution of drugs to the cancer institute by NMS in 2016.
NMS also wants the court to slap an injunction stopping Muhakanizi from any further conduct of special audits in breach of the provisions of the law, while the one that was carried out in 2016 should be expunged and struck off the public record.
Dragged to court in 2017, through its Lawyers Peter Kawuma of K and K Company Advocates, the Attorney General was also given a last opportunity to file a response defending an inquiry that was ordered by Muhakanizi into supplies by the National Medical Stores which have since expired without Muhakanizi’s defence.
These in their suit say the permanent secretary’s orders were not in law because all powers relating to special audits lie with the Office of Auditor General.
They add that any powers to vet compliance of procurement lies with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority while the power to query standard of drugs lies with the national drug authority and not the Ministry of Finance.
Also read: Will the Shs720 billion PTA loan scandal be the straw that breaks Kasaija, Muhakanizi’s backs?
Case flops
The NMS, represented by lawyers from K & K Advocates, is now demanding orders from the court declaring that the permanent secretary has no powers to order for special audits and stopping him from ever making such orders in the future.
The matter was due in court on Wednesday for parties to see how to proceed, but NMS lawyers, who had turned up with a representative for his client, were told that presiding Judge Margret Oumo was on leave.
The two parties are now expected back before the judge on May 9.
NMS says by letter dated July 19, 2016, and addressed to NMS plus Uganda Cancer Institute, Muhakanizi informed the two that he had tasked the Directorate of Internal Audit in the Finance Ministry to carry out a special audit of the supply and distribution of drugs at Uganda Cancer Institute by NMS, and that he had appointed an audit team of four people.
However, NMS objected to Muhakanizi’s actions, saying the audit team that had been appointed wrongly included Paul Musimami, the Internal Auditor of Uganda Cancer Institute, which would cause a conflict of interest and would be against the rules of natural justice, considering that Uganda Cancer Institute was one of the auditees to be audited under the special audit exercise.
NMS also insists that the law only mandates the Auditor General to carry out the said special audit, and he had actually carried out audits on NMS’ Corporation and raised no query on the transactions in issue.
That the powers to deal with the quality of drugs supplied by NMS, lay with National Drug Authority, while the power to monitor compliance of NMS procurement processes lay with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority.