“RE: COMPLAINTS AGAINST MR. BENON KAHANGI, PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OFFICER, RUBANDA DISTRICT. I wish to express my dissatisfaction with the above-mentioned person for forging my signature on various documents and submitting them to the Public Accounts Committee indicating that I verified them so that any audit queries are dropped. This comes as a result of failure to account for funds advanced to him for quarters three and fourth quarter of Financial Year 2022/2023,” reads the introduction of the letter authored by Mr Osbert Arinda, the Rubanda District internal auditor, (DIA), dated 19/10/2023, after learning that Mr. Benon Kahangi, the Rubanda District Production and Marketing Officer, had forged signatures, including those of many other colleagues, to misappropriate more than Shs 200 million.
The documents were accessed by our reporter during an investigation into how public resources ended up in the hands of very few individuals in the district.
Mr. Osbert Arinda was prompted to write to the Rubanda District Chief Administrative Officer, (CAO) Alex Kwizera, to clear his name. Osbert learned that Kahangi was throwing his reputation in danger, and the only option available was to clear the air.
Explosive Discovery.
Documents leaked to our reporter reveal that Kahangi printed the Goods Received Note booklet (GRN) and issued them to suppliers, claiming that goods were delivered to district stores that never happened, causing Rubanda District to lose over Shs 200 million.
Receipts and other financial documents accessed by our reporter indicate that Kahangi forged signatures, spending Shs 122,373,750 on various non-existent activities. These funds were requisitioned, paid to various technical staff of the district, and later handed over to Kahangi. The funds were meant for activities like irrigation schemes and farmer training, which never occurred, according to a document signed by Osbert Arinda, the Rubanda District Internal Auditor.
During our investigations, a retired civil servant, who preferred anonymity, expressed concern. She stated that during her 35 years as a senior government officer, she had never witnessed such gross mismanagement of public resources as Kahangi had perpetrated.
Not tired or concerned about the damage to patriotism or the societal cancer of corruption, Kahangi forged the signature of Mr. Owen Atuheire, a former inventory officer at Rubanda District, to claim receipt of goods worth Shs 67,383,000 that were never delivered to district stores.
A thief with various fraudulent tactics, Kahangi also allegedly forged the signature of the district’s internal auditor, (DIA), to validate supplies in the district stores.
Other documents accessed by our reporter indicate that Kahangi prepared a Goods Received Note for the supply of furniture worth Shs 12,720,000 under voucher number PROD/20/01/21, procured in financial year 2020/2021, yet the furniture was never supplied. Kahangi later requested the same furniture in the fourth quarter of financial year 2022/2023 to cover up for the undelivered furniture for which funds were already spent.
Rubanda CAO speaks out.
In a letter signed by the Rubanda District Chief Administrative Officer Alex Kwizera, dated 3rd November 2023 and addressed to Kahangi, Kwizera expressed dismay at his officer’s actions. He warned Kahangi about failing to reply to his queries and intimated that disciplinary action would be taken if no explanation was provided.
“Reference is made to my letter CD/D/208/01 dated 16/10/2023 in which I was drawing your attention to various undelivered goods to the council stores. Payment to the suppliers was effected in June 2023. You were directed to respond within 14 days from the date of the said letter, which you have not done to date. Please note that this amounts to defiance of administrative directives,” CAO Kwizera stated in a letter accessed by our reporter.
In the same letter, Mr. Kwizera asked Kahangi to explain why disciplinary action cannot be instituted against him, including the refunding of the funds in question.
Our reporter was yet to establish whether Kahangi replied to Mr. Kwizera by the time of filing this story.
However, another document seen by our reporter and authored by Mr. Kahangi, dated 11/10/2023, details how his office uses all allocated resources very well. He concluded in the letter that “the accounting officer should ensure that if any funds were discovered wasted, they should be recovered.” It was further noted that the letter contained a signature of Mr. Osbert Arinda, the Rubanda District Internal Auditor, although letters in our files indicate that the signature was never his but was forged.
Signing an illegal contract.
Two months ago, after Kahangi was arrested and detained at Rubanda Central Police Station, he admitted to misappropriating resources and wrote an agreement with district authorities to repay the funds gradually. He was later released.
While entering into a contract with the government to repay stolen resources may be considered a gesture of good faith and willingness to make amends, it doesn’t absolve individuals of criminal charges.
According to lawyer Hosea Arinda, it’s only the court that retains the ultimate authority to determine the appropriate course of action. He added that signing a contract may have been a ploy to confirm that he’s a culprit who should face the arm of the law.
Kahangi Arrogantly talks to his Juniors.
Soon after signing a contract to refund the money in question, Kahangi allegedly convened a meeting of all his juniors, including extension workers at the district.
One of the extension workers, who preferred anonymity, informed our reporter that Kahangi arrogantly informed them that his time to “eat” had come. He claimed that he should be allowed to misappropriate resources because it was his turn.
This angered most of the staff as some of the missing funds were meant to help with extension services.
Other civil servants at the district also informed our reporter during the investigation that Kahangi doesn’t feel remorseful after causing financial loss to the government.
“He will tell you, without shame, that he ate the money and that he will repay it gradually. He has no regrets after being exposed,” they stated.
Why is Kahangi a free man?
An individual who got away with Shs 202,476,750, despite overwhelming evidence, hasn’t faced the wrath of the law. No one is even sure if he’ll repay the missing funds. This raises concerns in a country where the corruption index scores are shooting up yearly, where the budget largely depends on loans and grants, and where efforts to weed out corruption remain sluggish. It remains unclear if Kahangi has repaid any amount yet.
Internal Auditor’s Letter to CAO, CAO Kwizera letter to Kahangi, Kahangi defending himself, others are documents forged bearing fake signature of Mr Osbert Arinda. All those receipts are exhibits.
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