Risdel Kasasira
Kampala
President Musevenis brother, Gen. Caleb Akandwanaho, yesterday declared what he called his modest wealth, referring to himself as broke. Addressing a press conference he called yesterday afternoon to dispel media reports that he is among the top 10 richest Ugandans, Gen. Akandwanaho, who is more popularly known as Salim Saleh, said amassing of wealth by a few individuals in a poor country like Uganda was dangerous.
Gen. Saleh, a senior presidential advisor on defence, castigated what he described as primitive accumulation of wealth and said listing him among the countrys richest individuals was not only unfair, but also ridiculous
I am a poor man. I am just Gen. Saleh. I am not super rich like people have said. I am a lumpen, he told journalists at the Media Centre.
Gen. Saleh however admitted that he belonged to the super rich class between 1994 and 1999. But I got saved. It [the quest for riches] almost swallowed my revolutionary background. I was involved in many companies including ENHAS (Entebbe Handling Services) and others but I took a declaration to go back to my revolutionary background, he said.
He said reports had insinuated he was corrupt. I am not corrupt. I am a revolutionary. In fact over 90 per cent of corruption is among the intellectuals - those who speak good English, not in the military. Its wrong to put me in the group of Sudhir (Ruparelia), Karim (Hirji) and Patrick Bitature, he said.
His declarations yesterday included nine square miles of land in Bulemezi and Kiruhura, 42 acres of land in Njeru and Entebbe and £2,000 in HSBC a UK bank, shares in security company Saracen. He said he earns a consolidated salary of Shs9.5 million as a presidential advisor.
While Gen. Saleh denies owning mansions in Kampala and investments abroad, Daily Monitor could not readily verify whether the former microfinance state ministers public declaration is in conformity with what he declared to the Inspector General of Government.
He said yesterday: I am oscillating between peasants and middle class. For those who say I have a lot of riches, I dont. I even rent in Kampala. In terms of liquidity, I have an account that has been running at HSBC bank with only pounds2,000 since 2001.
However, Gen. Salehs wife Jovia is known to be a wealthy businesswoman. Gen. Saleh is no stranger to controversy. In the late 1990s Gen. Salehs string of businesses ranging from real estate to aviation, raised a lot of controversies as he got involved in several corruption scandals.
In 1998, he was forced to resign his position as presidential advisor, following allegations that Greenland Investments, a company in which he was a major stakeholder, had used the Malaysian company, Westmont, to illegally purchase shares in Ugandas largest bank, the now defunct Uganda Commercial Bank.
In 1998, Gen. Saleh was named in the junk helicopter scandal that the army purchased from Russia at $12 million. President Museveni later said Gen. Saleh had confessed to him that the suppliers of the junk helicopters had promised Gen. Saleh a commission of $800,000.
In 2001, Gen. Saleh was also one of the several Ugandan military officials implicated in a UN Security Council report for being involved in the illegal exploitation of natural resources from Congo.
Kampala
President Musevenis brother, Gen. Caleb Akandwanaho, yesterday declared what he called his modest wealth, referring to himself as broke. Addressing a press conference he called yesterday afternoon to dispel media reports that he is among the top 10 richest Ugandans, Gen. Akandwanaho, who is more popularly known as Salim Saleh, said amassing of wealth by a few individuals in a poor country like Uganda was dangerous.
Gen. Saleh, a senior presidential advisor on defence, castigated what he described as primitive accumulation of wealth and said listing him among the countrys richest individuals was not only unfair, but also ridiculous
I am a poor man. I am just Gen. Saleh. I am not super rich like people have said. I am a lumpen, he told journalists at the Media Centre.
Gen. Saleh however admitted that he belonged to the super rich class between 1994 and 1999. But I got saved. It [the quest for riches] almost swallowed my revolutionary background. I was involved in many companies including ENHAS (Entebbe Handling Services) and others but I took a declaration to go back to my revolutionary background, he said.
He said reports had insinuated he was corrupt. I am not corrupt. I am a revolutionary. In fact over 90 per cent of corruption is among the intellectuals - those who speak good English, not in the military. Its wrong to put me in the group of Sudhir (Ruparelia), Karim (Hirji) and Patrick Bitature, he said.
His declarations yesterday included nine square miles of land in Bulemezi and Kiruhura, 42 acres of land in Njeru and Entebbe and £2,000 in HSBC a UK bank, shares in security company Saracen. He said he earns a consolidated salary of Shs9.5 million as a presidential advisor.
While Gen. Saleh denies owning mansions in Kampala and investments abroad, Daily Monitor could not readily verify whether the former microfinance state ministers public declaration is in conformity with what he declared to the Inspector General of Government.
He said yesterday: I am oscillating between peasants and middle class. For those who say I have a lot of riches, I dont. I even rent in Kampala. In terms of liquidity, I have an account that has been running at HSBC bank with only pounds2,000 since 2001.
However, Gen. Salehs wife Jovia is known to be a wealthy businesswoman. Gen. Saleh is no stranger to controversy. In the late 1990s Gen. Salehs string of businesses ranging from real estate to aviation, raised a lot of controversies as he got involved in several corruption scandals.
In 1998, he was forced to resign his position as presidential advisor, following allegations that Greenland Investments, a company in which he was a major stakeholder, had used the Malaysian company, Westmont, to illegally purchase shares in Ugandas largest bank, the now defunct Uganda Commercial Bank.
In 1998, Gen. Saleh was named in the junk helicopter scandal that the army purchased from Russia at $12 million. President Museveni later said Gen. Saleh had confessed to him that the suppliers of the junk helicopters had promised Gen. Saleh a commission of $800,000.
In 2001, Gen. Saleh was also one of the several Ugandan military officials implicated in a UN Security Council report for being involved in the illegal exploitation of natural resources from Congo.