The noose on St. Mary’s College Kisubi (SMACK) headmaster just keeps getting tighter.

Following a recent petition to the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), which we published here, several other complaints, mainly from the Brothers of Christian Instruction of the Catholic Church to which he belongs have come out to pin Bro. Simon Mpanga on a litany of cases.

The Brothers are not happy that Bro. Mpanga and his scheming cartel have dragged the Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere into their deals.  They say, the 66-year-old Bishop is naively being dragged into the selfish cartel’s schemes without really understanding their underlying motives.

“We respect the hierarchy of the church but Archbishop involving himself on which brother should head our schools is wrong. That should be left to the religious superiors of brothers and sisters because they know their people better and their opinions should be respected. Likewise, you can’t ask a Brother or a sister to appoint a parish priest for the parishes. As we respect the church we can’t talk everything there are many other things the man of God has done that we can’t bring them at table,” they state.

According to a source who called us with additional information, Mpanga’s crooked ways of doing things started long time back.

While he was in the formation house at Kanywa training for brotherhood, he got involved in a well-orchestrated money scandal in which he duped Bro. Gerald Byaruhanga, who was then in charge of students in the training.  He convinced him (Bro. Byaruhanga) to hand over to him the entire students’ welfare budget after presenting him forged papers that the borrowed money was to make super normal profits. He however never received a penny back.

“That was the end of the story.   The community suffered for a long time sometimes they could go to bed on empty stomachs because of Mpanga’s devilish actions,” they reveal.

They further say that Bro. Mpanga kept convincing Bro. Gerald Byaruhanga that things were going to be okay until he couldn’t stomach the lies any longer. The matter was reported to the Provincial Superior and his council and they immediately recommended that Bro. Mpanga should be expelled.

The source further adds that Bro. Mpanga pleaded for pardon and was given a second chance after Bro. Gerald interceded on his behalf with Bro. Superior. That wasn’t the last of his follies.

This website has learnt that his money problem followed him while at Kasasa where the then Bro. Tony Lubwama headmaster by then put him in prison because of the money he ate from Tanzanian students. It was Bro. Mutebi who bailed him out.

At St. Mary’s College Kisubi which he is now fronted to head, he is accused of eating money of the students who were going outside the country for debate and some have completed their S6 without getting their back. He purported he would process passports and visas for them to go attend debate in South Africa and USA whilst they were in s.3. Whereas some who pushed hard were refunded by the school. Others were not so lucky and left the school four years later without their money nor passports.

They narrate that when the Brothers learnt the behavior of their colleague they vowed not to work in their schools and that’s when Mr. John Agaba former commissioner and former Brother got him a place in Trinity College Nabbingo.

“Things didn’t go well at Nabbingo and Bro. Mwebe former provincial tried to get him a place at SMACK but Mr. Mwaka who was a caretaker of the school then refused him because he knew his dubious character through Bro. Edward Bukenya who had worked with Mpanga and chased him because of his actions.  When Mr. Mwaka left SMACK, Bro. Mpanga somehow sneaked back in” they detail.

It is also revealed that while at SMACK, he deceived a parent that the school vehicle was stuck in a bond and that it required 7000 USD for taxes and the parent gave it to him while it was for his personal use. The parent has never been refunded to date.

And when news started circulating that Bro. Mpanga was among the short listed for SMACK leadership, the college Chaplain went to provincial and shared his concerns about the impending disaster this would bring on SMACK.  He warned him that if you want SMACK to die give it to Bro. Mpanga. The Chaplain also warned the Brother Superior at SMACK a one Bro. Pius Ochwo about Bro. Mpanga.

They also point out that the SMACK Entebbe House was renovated four years ago with tenants. He collects money that is never remitted on the school account it goes to personal use. They also say that he got shs30m from the school claiming that he was going to renew the lease for the SMACK Entebbe house which up to date has never been processed or even accounted for. Imagine this is the fellow now being put in charge of over 3 bn collected every term. He will devise means to steal the money. Little wonder that he involves himself in every procurement even for tomatoes.

His greed is unprecedented for a man who is supposed to live a life of chastity. One wonders where does this money go? One theorizes that he is using the brotherhood to amass wealth and as soon as he is in position to live the life he craves outside brotherhood, he will then quit the institution.

They also claim that during the Covid 19 days, he stood surety for an accomplice at Entebbe Police who was accused of stealing a motor vehicle. The accomplice jumped bond and  police was looking for Bro Mpanga who went in hiding until the issue was resolved.

In the missive sent to the IGG, it was pointed out that during lock down, he embarked on a go fund me crusade to raise money from unsuspecting parents under the guise of collecting funds to give the teachers who were suffering from the ravages of the lock down. He collected so much money but ate all of it. His insatiable appetite for money and the length to which he will go to get his hands on money is astounding.

It is theorized that being the con act that he is, the board members backing him have a perfect ally in whom contracts and other works will be lined up through their stooges and money will be siphoned. The brothers are shocked that old boys through their SMACKOBA group are looking on while a wolf is being put in charge of the sheep.

A section of parents of St Mary’s College Kisubi have petitioned the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) to investigate the appointment of Bro. Simon Mpanga, who was recently posted to the 117-year-old institute.

St. Mary’s College Kisubi is a private, boarding middle and high school located in Wakiso District in the Central Region of Uganda. Established in 1906, it has a population of 1,400 students.

In a strongly worded petition seen by this publication, the concerned parents accuse the headmaster of among other ills, grand theft, being a con act and being part of a tribal-oriented cartel that is hell-bent on defying the Ministry of Education’s choice for headmaster.

“We got interested in the goings on at SMACK once it came to might that a cartel of Baganda hell bent on seeing their colleague Bro. Simon Mpanga appointed the HM.  The cartel is headed by Dr. Kasozi Mulindwa of Uganda Management Institute (UMI) and the school lawyer and former PTA chairman, a one Kaaya,” the petition reads in part.

They detail that attempts by the Superior Provincial, Brother Casio to thwart Brother Mpanga’s appointment for being a renowned embarrassment in the circles of Brothers hit a dead end.

“The cartel used their relationship with Archbishop Ssemwogerere to arm twist the ministry into playing the religious card yet they are tribalists hellbent on having one of their own eat with them,” they complain.

Why Bro. Mpanga is the wrong choice.

In their petition, they accuse Bro. Mpanga of conniving to obtain money from a section of individuals by false pretense.

“ He borrowed shs3 million from an illiterate individual who mysteriously died three weeks after he demanded for his money.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, he conned Kabojja School of shs11 million, as confirmed by Bro. Godfrey Lutaaya,” they write.

They also single out a litany of many other cases involving money swindling that hang heavily on his neck.

For instance,  they write that while at Uganda Martyrs Secondary School Rubaga, he was physically assaulted by students after their money for a party went missing, he also recently purchased beds from local welders  for the students at a cost of sh200,000 but instead billed the school sh450,000 for each decker.

In a more damning indictment, they accuse Bro. Mpanga and Dr. Kasozi Mulindwa of withdrawing over shs500 million of college funds between December 23, 2022 under the guise of construction and repairs.

“To justify the expenditures, they went as far as painting trenches and manhole covers. There is need for an urgent value for money audit” they reckon, adding that similar transgressions saw him chased at Kasasa by the then headmaster Bro. Lubwama Tony.

Poor management is his forte  

The complainants also find fault with Bro. Mpanga’s management style.

“He has no track record of any successful management to qualify him to be headmaster of SMACK. To place him in charge is a very big mistake,” they state.

They claim that he has ignored traditional structures he found in the school and chosen to only work with three people who are his stooges.  He has failed to come up with a budget to run the school and his preferred style of management is through intimidation.

“He has promised to ensure a purge on all staff brought in or thought to be loyal to the former Headmaster.  He also influenced the election of the current head prefect as he insisted it had to be a Muganda. He never sits in the office and is always out transacting deals,” they say.

They also accuse him of ringfencing any juicy deal in the school. For instance, the recent S1 admissions were solely handed by him.

“Not even the DOS nor the committee that handles admissions were involved. In the recent S5 admissions, a mere messenger, Francis Kasozi was in charge of allocating subject combinations of students,” they say

They also say that despite knowing that the school is overcrowded with ancient structures, he recently admitted 550 students to senior one and 120 in senior five, a record in the school.

He personally involves in the minutest of purchases for the school. Case in point, he is the designated supplier of matooke, fish, fruits and vegetables. His has side stepped the school’s contracted suppliers and as a result, spends more time in the market than at school.

The parents also have a dossier on him. They say despite his vows to celibacy, he is a known womanizer who stealthily takes women to his residence under the blanket of darkness.

“He impregnated a tea girl called Teddy. She used to cook for the brothers. He caused her to be chased away and has since abandoned her to her own devices. Kisubi is owned by Brothers of Christian Instruction but Mpanga represents Christian destruction,” they say.

When we contacted the IGG’s spokesperson, she confirmed receipt of the said petition last week (10^th March, 2023).  She said they would give a detailed comment after perusing the file to corroborate the complaints.

The member of Parliament for West Budama North East constituency Fox Odoi-Oywelowo has said homosexuality is not the problem in Uganda but rather a diversion.

Fox advised the mover of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 Hon. Asuman Basalirwa to go after those defiling young girls since defilement has become rampant in the country.

The West Budama legislator made the statement on March 13th as Asuman Basalirwa appeared before the parliamentary committee on legal and parliamentary affairs.

“Statistics in Uganda show that every 42 seconds there is a female child being defiled in Uganda… That is the problem. The problem is not homosexuality. This is a diversion. The people you should be running after is you and me not homosexuals,” he said.

However, MP Asuman Basalirwa says the bill is intended to protect the morals of Ugandans.

Basalirwa has proposed a life sentence for whoever is caught in the act of homosexuality as opposed to the 10 year jail term in the 2014 Anti-Homosexuality act.

Basalirwa says he is ready to face any consequences of moving the Anti-Homosexuality Bill including facing international travel Bans.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill was first tabled in Parliament in 2013 and was signed into law by president Museveni. The act was later nullified by court on grounds of lack of parliamentary quorum to pass the Bill.

Speaker Anita Among has cautioned MPs not to run away from the bill to create the same incident of lack of quorum. Speaker Among told MPs last week that whoever shuns the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will have supported homosexuality.