By John Kabagambe
In graft news round-up for the month ending October 2022, President Yoweri Museveni sacked the entire Uganda Railways Corporation- URC board acting on a report by the indefatigable State House Anti-Corruption Unit- SH-ACU which exposed high level corrupt dealings at URC including irregular and questionable procurement of 4 locomotives that were alleged to be used, substandard and not fit for the purpose, but nonetheless costing a whopping Ugx 48bn.
SH-ACU’s report which was borne out of President Museveni’s directive (early this year) to the state house’s anti-graft body to investigate URC, also queried the irregular recruitment of the URC Managing Director whose sacking, President Museveni has since directed the line minister (Gen. Katumba Wamala) to implement, on the grounds of being inexperienced and unqualified and allegedly recruited owing to the influence of Ben Twodo, a URC board member.
President Museveni didn’t stop at hurling the axe at the entire URC board and Managing Director, he further directed that all those involved in the illegal procurement and purchase of the impugned used 4 locomotives costing the exorbitant Ugx 48bn, as well as those involved in the payment of Ugx 1.2bn to the law firm of Kituuma Magala for legal services, be prosecuted.
Elsewhere, SH-ACU team in conjunction with a network of police and intelligence agencies, pounced on the local government leaders in Bunyangabu and conducted a series of arrests where the Principal Human Resource officer (Ikiriza Lucy) was arrested for fraudulently enrolling 3 teachers namely, Kiiza Joselyn, Mucunguzi Kasangaki and Achan Winnifred. The recruitment was fraudulent because the 3 had forged minutes purporting that they had been appointed by the Education Service Commission, yet it wasn’t true, nonetheless the irregular recruitment had caused loss amounting to Ugx 50m.
Meanwhile, still in Bunyangabu, the Chief Finance officer (Basaliza Joseph) the District Production officer (Asiimwe Yusta) and the District Agricultural officer (Tumwesigye Gerald) were arrested for mismanaging Ugx 90m being funds earmarked for the Agricultural Cluster Development Project (ACDP) in Bunyangabu district local government. The arrested officials were allegedly culpable for falsifying accountability documents, altering figures and concocting lies about events where money was spent, yet in actual fact, such events never occurred.
In Fort Portal, SH-ACU arrested 7 Fort Portal city and Kabarole district land officials for allegedly conniving to sell government land at Millane access (along protected boundaries) to a business man, a one Balinda Abbasi. The indicted officials include; Baguma David Mwesige (Chairperson area land committee) Musana Samuel (Senior Physical planner, Fort Portal city) Kugonza Simon Peter (District staff surveyor, Kabarole Ministry zonal office) and Bwango Jessy Smart (Secretary, District land board, Kabarole)
#Expose-the-corrupt
#Zero-tolerance-to-corruption
The writer is an Advocate of the High Court
Twitter@JohnKabagambe4
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