African News Agency : Welcome

Mr Mbabazi has acknowledged that money has been stolen from his office, but denies any involvement. Other European donors have also recently cut aid to the Ugandan government. A spokesman for the UK's Department for International Development said about £ 11m ($ 18m) in aid had been suspended with immediate effect because of "initial evidence" emerging from a forensic audit that it had ordered. "We are extremely concerned by these preliminary findings and we will assess the decision further when we have considered the full findings of the report," the spokesman said. "Unless the government of Uganda can show that UK taxpayers' money is going towards helping the poorest people lift themselves out of poverty, this aid will remain frozen and we will expect repayment and administrative and criminal sanctions." Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's adviser John Nagenda said the government was determined to ensure that those responsible for the alleged corruption were brought to justice. All Ugandans - including Mr Museveni - were "absolutely fed up" with corruption, he said. However, he was not happy with the UK's decision, as poor Ugandans would be "hardest hit", Mr Nagenda said. It would have been better for the UK to give the money to non-governmental organisations to spend on poor people, he said.