TORORO —State House Anti Corruption Unit and the Uganda Police Force have on Friday May 13 arraigned three Directors of Tororo Lion’s Club Host Ltd including District Senior Lands Management Officer and former Chairperson Area Land Committee.
The trio was remanded by the Tororo Chief Magistrate Court after being charged with obtaining registration by false pretense and conspiracy to defraud.
The three officials charged today were arrested early this week alongside others for alleged mismanagement of public funds and district assets.
Those arrested include the Directors of Tororo Lion’s Club Host Ltd, the Kasese District Senior Lands Management Officer (Ag Physical Planner), the former Chairperson of Area Land Committee, the Municipal Engineer and the Tororo Municipality Town Clerk.
The Directors of Tororo Lion’s Club Host Ltd are jointly accused of conspiring with the District Senior Lands Management Officer and the former Chairperson of Area Land Committee to unlawfully transfer public land plots 8-29 on Busia Road.
The subject land is being used as children’s park.
The State House Anti-Corruption Unit also posted on their Twitter platform that the Tororo Municipality Town Clerk and Municipal Engineer were also arrested over embezzlement of UGX180 million funds meant to construct the Kagera bridge
State House Anti Corruption Unit and Uganda Police said that a whistle-blower asked them to ‘clean’ Mitooma District and investigate how government properties are being misused.
He alleged that the biggest government-owned land at Rukururu in the Katenga Sub-county, Mitooma District was also sold to individuals.
It is not the first time Tororo Municipal officials have been arrested in an abrupt raid.
In 2019, the Anti-Corruption Unit, led by Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema, arraigned before them the former Municipal Engineer Dennis Okatch, the Roads Inspector Shadrach Etutu Ekoju, and the Town Clerk Akuma Muzamil.
The trio were charged with several corruption charges ranging from conspiracy to defraud government of UGX 115m, four counts of abuse of office to four counts of causing financial loss to government.
Their arrests in 2019 came after many complaints to the President’s office from constituents accusing local authorities of corruption and limiting service delivery.
The officials were accused of causing financial loss to the government by allegedly processing payments worth USh11,340,000 million as a gratuity to road gang casual labourers who were not entitled to it.
Further, the trio allegedly in abuse of authority, requisitioned, processed and made payment worth Shs95m to Tororo Station without following proper procedures.
The suspects who appeared before Chief Magistrate Pamela Lamunu Ocaya, denied all charges brought against them.
President Museveni established the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) at State House in 2018 and inaugurated it in his office. It is a specialised unit within the State House which receives corruption reports from the Ugandan public or citizens using a safe and private internet platform.
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