Kitwanga addresses sacking, ‘explains’ Lugumi

"I can't question the president's decision," Kitwanga said shortly when asked if he considered his dismissal to be fair.
But he was more vocal in denying allegations of financial conflict of interest leveled against him by some opposition lawmakers during his brief tenure as minister.

"I am a professional person, I hate rubbish," he told the gathering of journalists.
He moved to deny any involvement in the controversial, 37 billion/-, fingerprint scanner supply contract between the Tanzania Police Force and private local company Lugumi Enterprises Limited which recently caused ripples in parliament.

But he admitted that he was among the founder shareholders of the privately-owned information and communication technology (IT) company Infosys-IPS (T) Limited, which was also linked to the fingerprint scanner deal.

According to the former home affairs minister, Lugumi entered into a contract with an American firm, Bio-Metrica LLC, for the supply of an automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) to the Tanzania Police Force.

Bio-Metrica then contacted the headquarters of Dell, a leading United States firm that manufactures personal computers, to supply Dell computers for the AFIS network. Dell referred Bio-Metrica to Infosys-IPS (T) Limited as the authorised distributor of their computer products in Tanzania, Kitwanga said.

"Lugumi entered into a contract with the American company...Dell notified them that Infosys was its local agent in Tanzania…you see? So Infosys has no relationship with Lugumi and has no connection with the police ... Infosys is just the local agent of Dell computers," he asserted.

Kitwanga confirmed that as a co-founder of Infosys, he initially owned a 33 per cent stake in the company but later transferred the shares to his son, Lubango Kitwanga.
According to a statement from the president's office on May 27, Kitwanga was sacked because he turned up in parliament and endeavoured to answer questions put to him by fellow MPs while under the influence of alcohol.
He was the first – and so far only - cabinet minister to be fired by President Magufuli, who has been waging a single-minded crusade against corruption in government and to restore discipline to the public service since assuming office in November 2015.

Although several other senior public officials have also suffered the president’s axe over the months, Kitwanga’s sacking was viewed by many as something of a surprise since he was widely regarded as one of Magufuli’s closest associates.

Government red tape and official corruption have often been blamed by local and international businesses for slowing down or deterring investment in Tanzania despite big offshore gas reserves that the country is seeking to develop.

Magufuli meanwhile continues with his fight to end government inefficiency and impose discipline on the civil service and public institutions.