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Business on standstill as State House Anti- Corruption Unit heads to Moroto

FILE PHOTO: Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Tension is high in Moroto district following a decision by Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema, the head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to pitch camp in Karamoja. Information about Nakalema’s visit to Karamoja region started trickling in last week.

Tension was already high by Monday evening when official communication came in indicating that the team would be meeting Moroto District Officials today. By 12:30pm, Moroto Chamber Hall, the venue for the meeting was almost empty as officers scattered to make consultations in small groups of three to five people.

Others kept moving from one seat seeking more information about Nakalema’s visit. The Moroto Chief Administrative Officer, Charles Kumakech was seen consulting with the District Engineer and other heads of department. The Moroto Regional Referral Hospital Director, Dr. Alfred Francis Ogwag was also in talks with his board chair, Mark Aol Musooka and other staff in the hospital.

Some of the officers were seen in groups with police detectives and other security operatives as they waited for Nkalema’s arrival. At the district and Municipal headquarters, almost all offices were empty as the occupants paced up and down, awaiting Nakalema’s arrival.

At the district and municipal notice boards, details of central government grant transfers for the first quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year were pinned by Monday, which hasn’t been the practice. Stanley Eroku, the spokesman of the State House Anti-Corruption unit, says the team is in Moroto for a Barraza.

Asked if there were specific spots or offices of interest, Eroku said it was too early to comment on such matters. However, information obtained from some sources in Moroto indicates that the unit is interested in among others construction of staff houses and maternity ward at Moroto Regional Referral Hospital.

This is the first time the unit is setting foot in Karamoja since its launch in December 2018. The team has in the past picked up several civil servants for bungling up government projects and theft of public funds.

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