Mbarara blood donor recruitment officer arrested for causing financial loss

Mbarara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Mbarara blood donor recruitment officer has been arrested for allegedly causing a financial loss of 42 Million Shillings. Emmanuel Mugarura, 50, was picked on Wednesday by officers from the Inspectorate of Government-IG from Rukungiri.

According to the charge sheet, it is alleged that between February 2007 and June 2014, Mugarura continued to draw a salary from a consolidated fund purporting to be a teacher at Mbarara Secondary School and caused financial loss of 42 Million Shillings.

Fredrick Oketch, the Western region Inspectorate Officer says Mugarura despite being employed as a civil servant with the Uganda Blood Bank, forged appointment letters to serve as a secondary school teacher and got himself on the payroll using the forged letters.

Oketch says Mugarura who has never been appointed by the public service commission to teach has been earning a salary as a teacher since 2015 and a salary as a blood bank employee.

Oketch says they got a tip-off from a whistle-blower who complained after noticing that Mugarura was using two accounts to get himself salary loans from two banks.

Oketch says Mugarura who has been in hiding opened two accounts in Stanbic and Barclays Bank where he has been receiving salaries for both jobs.

This is the seventh person to be arrested by the office of the Inspectorate of Government for causing financial loss. In March, the senior finance officer of Igorora town council in Ibanda district was arrested for the alleged embezzlement of more than 28 Million Shillings.

It is alleged that while serving as a senior finance officer for Ishongororo town council, Ezra Nimusiima swindled a sum of 28 Million Shillings which he was supposed to deposit on the town council bank account. The money in question was raised as local revenue.

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