No stake in Infosys, Lugumi companies, maintains Kitwanga

PIUS RUGONZIBWA in Mwanza

Former Minister for Home Affairs Mr Charles Kitwanga 

THE former Minister for Home Affairs Mr Charles Kitwanga has finally come out of the shell, saying he has no stakes in Infosys Company. He further maintains that the company “had no partnership whatsoever with Lugumi as alleged by many people’’.

Mr Kitwanga was speaking to reporters in his Usagara home village in Misungwi District yesterday, when pressed to explain the state of affairs surrounding the deal. He had remained mum since he was kicked out from the Cabinet by President John Magufuli.

Mr Kitwanga said he had no any grudges with the decision by President Magufuli to fire him from the ministerial post, calling on all Tanzanians to support him since he wasdoing a wonderful job.

Wearing his normal, jovial mood, Mr Kitwanga said his ownership in Infosys ended officially in August 2010 when he decided to transfer his 33 per cent shares to his son, Lubanga Kitwanga.

“So, since then I am not the owner of the company and to the best of my knowledge, the company had not entered in any business partnership with Lugumi. Instead, it entered into a partnership with the U- based DELL,” he claimed.

He further claimed that Infosys was not working with any company in Tanzania except DELL and that the US firm had a business agreement with another US-based firm, Biometrics Company, to import and supply the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) forensic machines supposed to be installed at the police stations.

As to why he did not respond to the allegations as levelled against him about Lugumi Company failing to install the ICT equipment to the police stations as per agreement, Mr Kitwanga said the matter emerged when he was not yet appointed Home Affairs Minister.

“It is very unfortunate that certain people decided to connect me with the issue while I actually knew nothing about as I was quite new in the office. One could ask why all these baseless allegations against me?” he questioned.

He said he didn’t even remember to touch a file on the Lugumi deal, adding that the matter was probably better known to his three predecessors -- and not him. Mr Kitwanga told reporters that even the probe team that was formed recently to seek more facts on the deal had not interrogated him and nobody else has demanded from him anything formal about the whole saga.

He defended his former company, Infosys, saying it was a credible company -- employing more than 35 graduates who were well paid. He challenged people with doubt on the whole matter to dig deeper into records of the Business Registration and Licensing Authority (BRELA).

Mr Kitwanga thanked President Magufuli for his trust and confidence in him to the extent of appointing him Minister for Home Affairs. He said it was the president’s discretion to appoint him and he can’t, therefore, question his decision to remove him from the post.

He said that after a short break, he has now emerged with a new vigour to serve his electorate in Misungwi Constituency and to show that he was determined to serve the people better.

The former minister added that he will defend his parliamentary seat in the 2020 general election as his response “to the dirty propaganda against me’’.