| Jim Muhwezi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 August 1950 Uganda |
| Residence | Kololo, Kampala, Uganda |
| Nationality | Ugandan |
| Ethnicity | Umukiga |
| Citizenship | Uganda |
| Education | Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda Diploma in Legal Practice Law Development Center, Kampala, Uganda |
| Occupation | Lawyer & Politician |
| Years active | 1980 — present |
| Known for | Politics |
| Home town | Rukungiri |
| Religion | Christian |
Major General (Retired) Jim Muhwezi Katugugu is a Ugandan lawyer, politician and retired military officer. He is the current elected Member of Parliament (MP) representing "Rujumbura County", Rukungiri District.
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He was born in Rukungiri District on 23 August 1950.[1]
Jim Muhwezi holds the degree of Bachelor of Laws (LLB), from Makerere University, Uganda's oldest university. He also has received Senior Military Police and Security Intelligence Training.[2] In July 2009, the Law Development Center in Kampala awarded him the Diploma in Legal Practice, the prerequisite to enrolling as an advocate in Uganda and for obtaining a license to practice law in the country.[3]
In the 1970s Jim Muhwezi worked as a policeman in the Uganda Police Force. He was one of the combatants in the war (1981–1986) that ushered the National Resistance Movement into power. After the war, he served as a member of the National Resistance Council (NRC) from 1986 until 1996. During the same period, he concurrently served as the first Director General of the Internal Security Organisation (ISO). As head of ISO, Muhwezi is credited with cleaning up the reputation and image of the security police apparatus. During his ten (10) year tenure at the agency, no allegations of torture were raised against the agency.[4]
Between 1994 and 1995, he served as a member of the Constituent Assembly that drew up the 1995 Ugandan Constitution. From 1996 until 1998, Jim Muhwezi served as Minister of State in Charge of Primary Education. He was appointed Minister of Health in 2001, serving in that capacity until 2006.[5]
Muhwezi was censured by the Ugandan Parliament in 1998 for abuse of office.[6] He however kept his Cabinet post and his parliamentary seat. In June 2006, a Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice James Munage Ogoola, set up by the Ugandan Government to inquire into the misuse of funds of the Global Fund for AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, found in its report that Jim Muhwezi and his two Ministers of State, Captain Mike Mukula and Dr. Alex Kamugisha, were responsible for misuse of public funds. The Commission recommended prosecution, restitution and possible imprisonment if found guilty.[7] In a cabinet reshuffle one week before the Commission Report was made public, President Museveni removed all three ministers from his cabinet.[8]
On Sunday 27 May 2007, Major General (Retired) Jim Muhwezi Katugugu, the former Minister of Health turned himself in to the police, was arrested, booked and sent to Luzira prison, on charges of (a) abuse of office (b) theft and (c) embezzlement of over Sh1b (approximately US$500,000) in donor funds for immunisation.[9] Three days later, he appeared before a High Court Judge, made bail and was released.[10] The case is still pending in Ugandan courts.
Jim Muhwezi Katugugu is married to Susan Muhwezi, with whom he has seven (7) children. He is reported to enjoy reading and playing golf.
He is a member of the parliamentary committee on physical infrastructure.