Government issued a statement on the March 8 helicopter mishap which nearly killed Prime Minister Apolo Nsibambi and six others.
Prof. Nsibambi, the Permanent Secretary in his office, Pius Bigirimana and three aides Rose Oyella, Apollo Munghinda, Peter Isabirye and the pilots Emmanuel Busuulwa and Elijah Matovu were injured in the crash.
They were flying back to Kampala after receiving 150 tonnes of food aid from the Kenyan government which was meant for the victims of the Bududa mudslide.
The victims were first taken Bugiri government hospital before they were airlifted to Kampala in an army helicopter for further treatment at Mulago Hospital.
The Bududa mudslides killed more than 300 people and displaced hundreds of others.
Addressing parliament on March 9, State Minister for Internal Affairs, Matia Kasaija, said the helicopter registration No.5x-MAC Augusta Westland 119 (USA), which according to the Minister is  “still new, was acquired by the Uganda Police Air Wing in 2008. Kasaija said the helicopter had been well maintained. He said it was forced to make an emergency landing in Bugiri after the pilot detected a malfunction.
He described the pilot as “one of the most experienced helicopter pilots in the region with over 2,300 flying hours on helicopters and over 30 years in helicopter and plane experience.â€
The minister said the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is investigating the accident and a report of the findings will be made public at an appropriate time.
Legislators welcomed the government’s immediate response. Chua County MP, Livingstone Okello Okello described the promptness with which the statement had been issued as “very unlike the government.â€
The legislators doubted the government’s ability to investigate and expeditiously release a report. They also questioned the government’s health care and procurement systems.
Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Sekikubo, citing a case in the late 1990s when a small aeroplane crashed in the Karamoja region, said several other reports into similar accidents have never been released.
The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, Nandala Mafabi, said the decision to airlift the Prime Minister from Bugiri to Mulago only shows how dire conditions in health units in eastern Uganda are.
Mafabi told parliament that Bududa Hospital has for a long time lacked drugs and equipment. He said the situation was only exacerbated by the landslides.
“There have been no X-ray films since October. We were also told of a woman who was about to die because there was no fuel to run the generator. It was only after the two medical doctors there contributed money from their little savings that diesel was bought and the operation went ahead,†Mafabi told the House.
He said the accident was unfortunate, but added that it should serve as an eye opener to government to improve all medical facilities countrywide.
Legislator Yokasi Bihande Bwambale, pointed out that the same helicopter had crash-landed with minister Kasaija in Arua last year due to lack of fuel. He wondered how a helicopter that the minister was describing as new could have lacked a fuel gauge to determine how much fuel it had.
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