By Cedric Mwesigwa.
The Democratic Party (DP) secretary general Dr. Gerald Blacks Siranda is under the spotlight for allegedly having taken part in fraudulent deals that have left the party financially constrained.
Blazer News Times has exclusively established from sources who requested to speak on condition of anonymity the that the May- June 2025, DP National Delegates Conference (NDC) which was held at Asama Hotel in Mbarara city, is one of the activities that exposed Siranda’s fraudulent dealings.
Authoritative sources say that when the relevant party organs resolved to hold the NDC, they passed a resolution approving the requisite budget to cover for all its activities. Some of the items that were earmarked funding was among others, accommodation, food, per diem and transportation for the more than 1000 delegates who travelled from different sub regions across the country.
The DP secretary general’s office was the chief organizer of the conference ranked as one of the poorly organized in the history of DP, according to the sources.
Although the delegates were entitled to better accommodation services, most of them slept outdoor in the cold, sparking serious concerns and outrage that even compelled some to go on the rampage, questioning the where about of resources that ought to have catered for that, according to sources.
Multiple sources say that, while the delegates were supposed to receive per diem for the days spent in Mbarara based on the mileage, only per diem for two days was paid to them out of the five days spent there. The delegates had also poorly eaten despite the huge food budget approval.
It has however emerged from the sources that the invoices submitted by Siranda to the relevant party authorities indicate that a whopping 400 million shillings was spent on the controversial DC. Out of that amount, 56 million was spent on stationary, according to insiders.
On contrary, the quick investigation by the relevant party officials indicate that the 400 million expenditure was bloated and inflated. According to insiders, the said stationary only coast 15 million, contrary to the 56 million that are reflected in the Siranda’s records.
According to reliable sources, based on an investigation with all service providers, it was discovered that the documents as submitted by the secretary general were a forgery, a matter that some party members have ever since developed interest in, to invite the Inspector General of Government (IGG) come in and widen investigation into the reported mismanagement, since part of the resources in question are drawn from the public coffers to fund political party activities.
“We had discovered the location where the stationary printing was done. It is at Nasser road”, one of the senior party members who declined to be named insisted. The name of the building, floor level and room number detail are withheld by the Blazer News Times.
Trusted sources say that there was a discrepancy in terms of payments made to some service providers based on the findings.
According to sources, when the DC was concluded many delegates were seen stranded in Mbarara with no means to transport themselves back to their normal addresses, and it only took an intervention of the party president who explored alternative ways to see them off.
Party Vice President Makumbi Named in Food Supply Deal.
Sources say that the quality of the little food supplied to the betrayed delegates was not worth the money that was put in the quotation. Details show that the contested food ration service provider was recommended by the DP vice president for Western region Imam Makumbi.
However, our efforts to seek a comment from Siranda and Makumbi were futile by the time we published this news report. Siranda who is also a Ugandan-DP representative to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) had decline to respond to our WhatsApp messages that had been sent to him, while with Makumbi, we couldn’t successfully link up with him via a phone call.
