Richard Kaijuka, the flamboyant but embattled former World Bank’s associate director, may face a United States grand jury set over the US$10,000 bribery scandal concerning the 250MW US$550m Bujagali power project, reports Alfred Wasike.

A grand jury is appointed by a judge to decide whether there is sufficient evidence to indict a suspect.

“The US Justice Department says they are considering calling Kaijuka before a grand jury,” the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Jotham Tumwesigye, who is also investigating the alleged bribe, told The New Vision yesterday.

An official in the United States Attorney General’s chambers in Washington DC, Channing Phillips, last night neither denied nor confirmed reports that Kaijuka might soon appear before a grand jury.

“It is a strict policy here in the Department of Justice not to comment on that subject and others under investigation before they have been indicted or charged. But I recall someone was charged some months ago,” Phillips said.

The World Bank Board for whom Kaijuka worked up to August 26, 2002 as the representative of 23 English and Portuguese-speaking African nations, has also said the probe into Kaijuka, who was due to become executive director in October 2002, is still on.

Kaijuka was replaced by Bank of deputy governor Louis Kasekende. “The Department of Justice investigation is still underway and any comments on the content of that investigation should be directed to that agency. We have periodic contacts with the Department of Justice but are not in a position to comment on on-going investigation,” said Raymond Toye, communications officer in the World Bank for Africa.

AES spokesperson in Uganda Sarah Birungi said yesterday, “We have not been involved in the investigation of Honourable Kaijuka.

“It is a Uganda and US Government thing because Kaijuka is a government official. So it is the IGG and the US Department of Justice working on that case in liaison with the World Bank where he worked.”

Kaijuka, also popularly known as Sir Rich, was a former energy minister and Sheema North MP.

His woes started in June this year following reports that a Norwegian company, Viedekke ASA, paid him a $10,000 bribe in 1999 at a time it was lobbying to build the Karuma Falls power station.

Kaijuka said the money was payment to his son for work he did for Viedekke’s subsidiary company, Noricil, known as Norpak.

The work was allegedly a study on how to mobilise labour and logistics for the Karuma Falls project.

The money was deposited on Kaijuka’s London bank account but Kaijuka insisted it was a legitimate payment to his son, Steven Kagyezi Kaijuka.

In a July 26 meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, the IGG and attorney general Francis Ayume, Kaijuka reportedly said the alleged bribe was made in 1999 when the AES was finalising technical and environmental viability studies and had not started soliciting for bids to construct the dam.

He said this payment could not have been meant to make him influence the selection of bidders as implied. He denied Viedekke ever bribed him.

Corruption allegations hovered around the Bujagali power project but had never been confirmed.

Nonetheless in December last year, the World Bank board, approved $175m of financing.

The African Development Bank was to provide an additional $55m.

On June 18, the bank’s investment guarantee arm was scheduled to approve $195m more in risk guarantees to cover export financing by Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Swiss agencies.

But the decision was postponed indefinitely after AES discovered evidence of past corruption by Viedekke ASA of Oslo.

Kai Henriksen, Viedekke’s executive vice-president of communications, said officials found a $10,000 payment to a Ugandan official made in 1999 by a manager of its English subsidiary, Noricil.

Henriksen refused to name the official or the purpose of the alleged bribe but added the subsidiary was liquidated a year later.

In July this year, Kaijuka’s son, reportedly studying in Australia, faxed a letter to The New Vision saying the $10,000 was his.

He said it was payment for work he did for a construction project he did not name.