[allAfrica.com]


Porter Report Sent to UN

New Vision (Kampala)
NEWS
February 1, 2003
Posted to the web February 1, 2003

By Alfred Wasike
Kampala
AFTER 19 months of investigation, the United Nations boss, Kofi Annan, and the
global body's policing organ, the UN Security Council, are soon to receive
electronic versions of the Justice David Porter commission's findings on the
plunder of the Democratic Republic of Congo's wealth.
President Yoweri Museveni and the Third deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign
Affairs, James Wapakhabulo, received hard copies of the long-awaited report
that Porter and his team handed over to the Government yesterday.
The actual report has 211 pages but adds up to 1,300 pages, including the
annexes.
Without divulging anything, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in charge
of international affairs, Tom Butime, assured sceptical journalists, "I promise
Ugandans that we shall make it public soon.
"We owe that to the public. We promise to be transparent about this thing.
President Museveni is eagerly waiting for this report and will take action. We
shall not shelve it because the UN is eagerly waiting for it."
An equally guarded British expatriate judge said, "It has been a long hard
grind. Here are our findings. These four CD ROMs have the report, exhibits and
transcripts. The Government of Uganda can make copies and send them to the UN.
We also bound two copies of our report. One is for President Museveni and the
other is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs."
"Our mission was to advise the Government of Uganda. We were not assigned to
prosecute or defend on behalf of the UN. But we are very confident that the
report will be acted upon. We report to the foreign affairs ministry in
confidence," Porter said.
The hand over follows the UN Security Council's decision last Friday to give
chance to the suspects named in the UN panel's October 21, 2002 report to
present their defences to the panel by March 31.
The UN panel comprises Mahmoud Kassem (Egypt) as chairman, Jim Freedman
(Canada), Mel Holt (US), Bruno Schiemsky (Belgium) and Moustapha Tall
(Senegal).
The security council requested Annan to have the defences published as an
attachment to the report not later than 15 April. The council approved a new
six-month mandate for the panel of experts probing the illegal exploitation in
the DRC.
Porter's probe, held since May 2001, comprised Ghanaian expatriate Justice
David Berko, retired UN official John Rwambuya, city advocate Allan Shonubi,
the DPP's representative, Vincent Wagona and the secretary, Bisereko
Kyomuhendo.

   

  =============================================================================
  Copyright © 2002 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
                         Global Media (allAfrica.com).
  =============================================================================