Kabarole district officials feud with PWDs over ownership of KADIPU building

Fort Portal, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kabarole district is feuding with Persons with Disabilities-PWDs over the ownership and accountability of funds generated from the “Kabarole Disabled People’s Union” building found in Fort Portal City Central division. This came up after some of the members of the PWD Union demanded accountability for the premises that were rented out by the union leadership.

The PWDs accuse the PWD representatives in the council of conniving with the PWD chairperson in Kabarole district, Emex Byaruhanga whose contract expired long ago of mismanaging funds generated from the premises and plotting to fraudulently acquire the building. Frank Rwiragira, the Kabarole district PWD representative says that despite forwarding the matter to the district chairman for appropriate action, nothing has been done because the implicated persons declined to show up for a meeting.

Rwiragira says that the building was rented out to various business people but the dividends are not helping the PWDs. He also notes that whereas the building is under the management of the union chairperson, he has not presented any audit report in the last three years. Rwiragira accuses their PWD representative Rosemary Kaboona and Patrick Tungo together with the current PWD leadership of profiteering from the premise claiming that it belongs to the Kabarole district local government.

It is against this background the PWDs representatives led by Frank Rwiragiira, Topista Mugisa, and thirty others petitioned the Minister of state for local government to intervene in the matter.

However, the Fort Portal city female representative Rosemary Kaboona denied the allegations leveled against her, saying that she doesn’t hold any position in the management of the KADIPU building since the union has a reputable structure with a chairman who oversees the operations of the building.

Kaboona says whereas it’s true she served for eight years as chairperson of the union before joining active politics, she doesn’t know how the building is being run today. She accuses a section of opportunists of trying to tarnish her name because she stood by the rules to protect the union structure from being owned by one entity.

Efforts to reach out to the chairperson of the union Byaruhanga were futile as he couldn’t answer our repeated calls. Richard Rwabuhinga, the Kabarole district LCV chairperson says that he guided that the matters are referred to the National Union of Disability of Uganda-NUDIPU, which is directly in charge of the PWDs affairs at the national level.

Easter Kyoziira, the NUDIPU Chief Executive Officer could not be reached for comment as her known mobile phones could not go through. The contested building was established under the ADP-Action Disabilty Program in 1999 with funding from the European Union for the sole purpose of establishing a skilling training center for PWDs. The union decided to rent out the building when the donors pulled out to raise money for clearing electricity and water bills and maintenance.

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