Former State House Spokesperson Joseph Tamale Mirundi broke down in tears while narrating how President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni saved him from the First Lady Janet Kataha Museveni over fabricated recorded tapes.

Mirundi, the Senior presidential advisor on media revealed that in 2015, when he developed a misunderstanding with State House staff who included; Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema, Lt. Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso and some members of the first family, he decided to stop reporting to Okello House where his office was.

Mirundi narrated that while at his home, he received a phone call from State House informing him that the President wanted to see him immediately.

While he was still preparing himself, military vehicles sealed off his gate under the command of Maj. Gen. Stephen Sabiiti Muzeeyi, the former Deputy Inspector General of Police who told him that the President directed him to take him to State House.

Sabiiti gave Mirundi time to take a bath and dress up in his good suits and after drove him straight to Entebbe State House.

He was ordered to enter the room where he found veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda, Lt. Col. Nakalema, Lt. Gen. Nalweyiso and other people.

Hours passed without each talking to the other until the president entered the room.

“Mirundi, are you in your normal understanding, I am told you have run mad, and you are always drunk,” Mirundi quoted a furious Museveni.

While he was still denying the allegations, Mwenda started pinning him.

Mwenda told the meeting that Mirundi is an abusive person and is placing State House and the President in bad light.

Mwenda asked the president to grant them permission to play recorded tapes when Mirundi is abusing him, his wife, first family members and other government officials.

While listening to the recorded tapes, Mirundi narrated that Museveni closed his eyes while listening to Mirundi’s voice abusing him, his wife with strong words including using words like ‘stupid’.

“When I looked at Museveni and saw him closing his eyes, I saw his face change. I realised that I’m going to be killed or imprisoned for all my entire life,” Mirundi stated.

He added that when the tapes were done, Museveni asked Mirundi whether the voices on the tape are his, which he accepted but pleaded to the President explaining that the voices on the tapes were fabricated.

The president again ordered the tapes to be played again and at the end asked Mwenda why the voices of the moderator of the talk shows which Mirundi used to abuse him and wife were not on the tape.

“The President told me that he used to listen to my programs and moderators guided me. That is why he was asking, why I was alone in the tapes this time.”

As Mirundi was defending himself, Lt. Gen. Nalweyiso raised his hand and told the president that Mirundi not only abused him but he also abuses religious leaders and cultural leaders like Ronald Muwenda Mutebi the Kabaka of Buganda.

“I was humiliated to the bone marrow. Museveni told me that; ‘Mirundi you are gone, and squirrels have eaten you, even though you thought that you are a huge snake’,” Mirundi narrated.

Mirundi recounted that Museveni asked him who he is in State House. Before he answered, he asked him whether he knows how to write and Mirundi responded to him that he knows that’s why he appointed him his press secretary.

He then told him that he has been fired from his job as senior press secretary but he gave him the opportunity to recommend the person to replace him. That is how he recommended his deputy Linda Nabusaayi.

Museveni then ordered Mwenda and his group to move out of the room. Museveni then told Mirundi that the First Lady was very bitter with him.

He immediately got a plain paper and asked him to draw close. He then asked him to write an apology letter to the First Lady in his hand writing.

“We drafted the apology letter together while he was guiding me on which words to use,” Mirundi said.

Mirundi added that after agreeing on the final letter, Museveni told him to wait for him so that he takes the apology letter to the First Lady.

Mirundi related that Museveni spent an hour before coming back with the good news that the First Lady had forgiven him.

However, the President told him that he had to plead with the First Lady to accept his apology and the condition was that he had to take it for publication in the next day’s New Vision which Mirundi accepted.

Unfortunately, Robert Kabushenga, the then Chief Executive Officer at the New Vision refused to publish the apology letter.

He added that the next day, he received a phone call from the president asking him why the apology was not in the papers. Mirundi told the President that Kabushenga had refused to publish it.

The President comforted him and told him that it was ok he was going to talk to the First Lady.

However, Mirundi confirmed that he has forgiven Mwenda because he was used to fight wars he did not understanding.

He however swore never to forgive Lt. Col. Nakalema and Lt. Gen. Nalweyiso insisting that they frustrated his career as a person and his family suffered when he was fired.

By Grapevine Reporter

City businessman Haruna Sentongo has suffered a setback in the legal battle to save his multimillion empire which is under threat of being auctioned by I&M Bank formerly Orient bank over a Shs10bn debt.

Justice Harriet Grace Magala of the Commercial Division of the High Court dismissed with cost the application filed by Sentongo seeking a court order staying taxation proceedings against him until the determination of his appeal at the Court of Appeal.

In his affidavit, Sentongo challenged the proceedings of taxation against him explaining that he challenged the order for payment of costs in his Appeal and he has secured the interim order staying the execution of the orders of the lower court.

He accused the bank of abusing the court process by filing the bill of costs which will irremediably prejudice to his appeal.

He pleaded with court to exercise its inherent powers to stay the execution proceedings of the bank’s bill of costs because if it is allowed, it is going to be a  pivotal ground on his appeal and render the appeal nugatory and academic.

The bank protested the application through the affidavit in reply deposed by Cheguvera Mushemeza, the Legal Officer of the bank, stating that the application for stay of execution is an abuse of court process.

Mushemeza explained to the court that the court of appeal granted Sentongo a conditional stay but he failed to comply with it. He added that the court of appeal issued an interim injunction against the sale of the mortgaged property and an interim stay of execution of the Decree.

He explained that the Court partially allowed the application but declined to grant a stay of execution and it is the ground they based on to file and serve their bill of costs in the consolidated suits which was scheduled for taxation on the 7th June 2023.

He stated that prior to the taxation hearing date, Sentongo was invited for a pre- taxation hearing on the 5th June 2023 but he either declined or failed to attend.

In her ruling over the matter, Justice Magala explained that her court cannot entertain Sentongo’s application because he is in contempt of the court order issued against him.

“The applicant therefore came to court with unclean hands. For that reason, the court cannot exercise its judicial discretion in the Applicant’s favor unless he has purged himself of the contempt. In the result, this Application is dismissed with costs to the Respondent,” Justice Magala ruled.

Sentongo is challenging the decision by the Commercial Division of the High Court which dismissed his case challenging the bank’s action to auction his commercial property known as Segawa Market, on land situated on Kibuga Block 12 Plots 250 and 251, Kisenyi Kampala city over Shs10bn debt.

Court records indicate that in 2015, Sentongo approached the bank for a financial facility for completion of the commercial blocks for Segawa Market which was to be rented out to tenants to derive rental income.

Both parties executed a facility letter dated 22^nd February, 2016, for a Loan of Shs5bn and it was agreed that the facility would only be serviced through rent collections from the market if the bank funded the development.

Sentongo claims that the bank breached the facility contract by failing to disburse the agreed sums of monies.

Court documents show that Sentongo told the Commercial Division of the High Court that the ban would purport to credit his bank account, and synonymously liquidate the loan, paying itself back immediately with the sums credited, and the sums it would repay itself were always reflected as “Loan amounts recovered”.

The bank on the other hand, according to court documents claimed that between February to October 2016, Sentongo was granted several loan facilities and at his request, they were consolidated into one term loan with a single monthly instalment amortized for a period of five years.

He however, failed to meet his loan repayment obligations consequent upon which the bank issued him two notices of default.

The bank further claimed that when they started the process of recovering their sum of Shs10bn, Sentongo decided to institute a lawsuit and was defeated at the High Court. He appealed at the higher court.

By Grapevine Reporters

Fans of Meddie Nsereko Ssebulimba a celebrated political talk show host at Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s Central Broadcasting Services (CBS) radio are questioning the whereabouts of their man.

It is now a month since Nsereko abruptly stopped hosting Kkiriza oba gaana talk show which aired every day from Monday to Thursday on 89.2FM and Palamenti Yaffe on 88.8FM every Saturday.

Nsereko’s proggrammes are currently being hosted by Lameck Kigozi and his alive and kicking entertainment show that airs every Sunday morning is currently being hosted by his fellow senior comedian Hajji Abbey Mukiibi Nkaga.

Highly placed sources at CBS told theGrapevine that Nsereko asked for a leave of one month after he was attacked by a strange disease.

Sources disclosed that Nsereko was advised by his personal doctors to seek further medication from the United States of America.

A reporter at CBS however told us that they were informed that Nsereko has been responding well to medication and he is expected back to work very soon.

“I cannot confirm that he was rushed to America very ill but we are told that he is on sick leave for one month,” this source said.

Nsereko is one of the highly educated and trained political journalists in Uganda with huge experience.

theGrapevine made efforts to talk to Nsereko for a comment but his known phone numbers were not going through.

By Grapevine Reporter