Odrek Rwabwogo has challenged authorities to take his arrested assistant, Matthew Bagonza, to court if there is a criminal case against him, while insisting that the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID) remains operational and lawful.
Rwabwogo made the remarks after meeting President Yoweri Museveni, during which he said he raised two issues surrounding the arrest of Bagonza and reports that PACEID had been banned.
According to Rwabwogo, Museveni told him he was not aware of Bagonza’s arrest and had not issued an order banning PACEID.
“If there is a case on anyone, let it be brought before a competent court and tried fairly and impartially,” Rwabwogo said in a statement accompanied by a video.
He said the manner in which suspects are arrested and treated must comply with the law, arguing that even a person accused of wrongdoing deserves dignity.
“Both the arrest and the treatment of a presumed offender should follow the law, be humane not humiliating and give the constitution, the people and God the dignity and humanness one deserves,” he said.
Rwabwogo also called for evidence against Bagonza to be subjected to judicial scrutiny.
“Let the evidence be tested. Matthew Bagonza can defend himself and the institution he works for. And let the law take its course,” he said.
Rwabwogo: PACEID Has Not Been Banned
On PACEID, Rwabwogo was equally emphatic that the organisation remains operational.
“PACEID is operational and PACEID is lawful and reports to H.E. the President and all our quarterly and annual reports are consistent on what we have achieved and the ideas we have brought forward for our country, its entrepreneurs and exports sector,” he said.
Rwabwogo said PACEID was commissioned by the government on March 16, 2022, arguing that any alteration to its mandate would have to follow an established legal and administrative process.
“We were commissioned on 16 March 2022. Institutions begin through a process and, if a mandate is ever changed, that too must happen through a due process,” he said.
He dismissed reports circulating on social media that PACEID had been shut down, saying an anonymous social media communication could not constitute an official government decision.
“An anonymous message on social media is not that process,” Rwabwogo said.
His remarks come after a directive attributed to Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba ordering government ministries, departments and agencies and local governments to suspend dealings with PACEID.
The development triggered uncertainty among PACEID partners and stakeholders, particularly those involved in export orders, logistics and financing of value chains.
Rwabwogo sought to reassure the organisation’s international partners that its operations should continue.
“We encourage all International partners, those who hold export orders, our global trade representatives in several countries, our logistics partners, those financing value chains in the 13 products, to have peace and keep all due activities as usual,” he said.
The latest statement places Rwabwogo’s account of his meeting with Museveni against the earlier directive attributed to Muhoozi, creating questions over the status of PACEID and the authority under which any suspension of its activities could be effected.
For now, Rwabwogo maintains that the organisation remains in business and that any decision to alter its mandate must be made through due process rather than social media communication.
It should be remembered that Muhoozi declared his 2031 presidential bid after announcing banning Odrek Rwabwogo’s PACEID, raising concerns that he could be seeking to counter Rwabwogo’s rumored presidential ambitions. (See Details Here and There).
