MINISTER OF CROCODILES CANNOT SHUT UP EITHER
Rash decisions and bad decisions triggered all this and it is entirely Otafires fault that UWA is now in tatters said a source close to the centre of the ongoing controversy, when it became known that the now Minister for Justice had gotten once again involved in the UWA Commission of Enquiry earlier in the week when he directed that the Commissions lead counsel stop working after it became public knowledge that he had, together with two other commissioners, publicly disagreed with commission chair Kanyeihamba.
Technically the commission is under Tourism so why Otafire gets involved is a bit of a mystery for everyone, but maybe he is trying to save his man Kanyeihamba. In any case, the term of the commission has expired in August and it was directed by the competent minister to wind up and produce a report. But it seems the commission chair is busy lobbying for another extension instead of writing his report. The dissent with his members is also now public knowledge and we wonder if we get one report signed by all or two reports signed by the factions only added the same source, understandably on condition of strictest anonymity, fearing a witch hunt for informers.
Meanwhile is the appointment of a new board of trustees for the Uganda Wildlife Authority still pending before the minister Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu as is the decision over the fate of the acting Executive Director Dr. Andrew Seguya, keeping the organization in added suspense. These latest public spats will undoubtedly put some added pressure to have these issues resolved at the very earliest opportunity as UWA deserves to get back to a level of normality with a properly constituted board in place and the position of Executive Director sorted out once and for all, to put past upheavals and operational paralysis behind and get on with crucially important conservation work. Watch this space as undoubtedly more twists and turns of this saga will come to light.
