Four district engineers from Kigezi region have been arrested for allegedly causing financial loss to the government, abuse of office and corruption.
Denis Twesigwomwe the Rubanda District Engineer,Rubanda District Water Officer, David Otuka, Spencer Ngabirano who is the town engineer Ryakarimira town council in Kabale District and Eric Sivaseya Mutumba, Senior Kanungu District Engineer are accused of misappropriating billions of government funds.
The quadruple was arrested on Tuesday evening after recording statements at Kabale municipal council main hall by officials from State House Anti-Corruption Unit led by Fatimah Namukwaya, the deputy director of anti-corruption operations under the Internal Security Organization (ISO).
According to the State House anti-corruption unit, Twesigwomwe is accused of sanctioning the payment to Ricky Construction Company that had been contracted to construct UGX 500 million structures at Mpungu health center III in Hamurwa town council during the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 financial years, yet it had developed cracks before handover. He was also accused of ignoring the same contractor’s installation of a substandard solar system.
Otuke is accused of failing to explain how a stalled shilling 6.2 billion Bushura water supply project was implemented in Hamuhambo town council and Bubaare sub-county,Rubanda district during the financial year 2019/2020 when the district lacked the capacity to fund it. The project stalled after the district had already injected Shillings 677 million.
Ngabirano is accused of keeping a deaf ear after the Assistant town clerk, Alex Ampeire, embezzled approximately UGX 414.28 million in government funds and later fled to China. Nbabirano is also accused of sanctioning 60 million shillings on roofing condemned staff houses pending demolition.
Mutumba is accused of sanctioning works as well as allowing the contractor who had contracted the construction of a structure at Mpungu Health center IV in Mungu sub county in Kanungu yet the structure had cracks before handover. Without revealing how much the project was costing Mutumba is also accused of deliberately sanctioned paying of shillings 55 million to the contractor in form of excess.
Elly Maate, Police spokesperson for Kigezi region confirms that the arrested government officials are being held at Kabale police station as investigations into the matter continue. Maate says that the suspects are likely to be transferred to Kampala to appear before anti-corruption court for answering the charges accordingly. The case is registered at Kabale Police Station under file number ACU/GEF 074/2023 and ACU/GEF 075/2023.
In a recent visit to the districts by the State House Economic monitoring unit Otuke claimed that he advised the then-district council not to implement the project but was overpowered. Twesigomwe also stated that he attempted to supervise the project and that upon discovering anomalies, the contractor had promised to rectify them.
While supervising the projects, the State minister for economic monitoring, Akello Beatrice Akoli ordered the anti-corruption unit to investigate these officials after they failed to explain the irregularities that had been identified there.
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