Senior finance officer arrested for embezzlement

Ibanda, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The senior finance officer of Igorora town council in Ibanda district has been arrested for the alleged embezzlement of more than 28 million shillings.

Ezra Nimusiima, 50, was arrested on the orders of the Inspectorate of Government eight months after he was interdicted over the same. He was arrested on Wednesday from Mbarara district.

Fredrick Oketch, the Western Region Inspectorate Officer says that while serving as a senior finance officer for Ishongororo town council, Nimusiima swindled a sum of 28,976,300 million Shillings which he was supposed to deposit on the town council bank account. The money in question was raised as local revenue.

The money was handed to him between July 2018 and July 2019. In total, Nimusiima received 76,683 800 million Shillings but did not deposit it entirely to the account as expected. Oketch says that they carried out the investigations after receiving a tip-off from a whistleblower in July 2020 and found that part of the money had not been deposited.

In 2018, Nimusiima appeared before the court and went for a plea bargain agreeing to refund the money. Oketch says Nimusiima has also on two occasions returned the money after being interdicted on allegations of embezzlement.

Nimusiima said the money has been transported to Kampala where he is expected to appear before the Anti-Corruption Court on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Nimusiima has been charged with embezzlement contrary to section 19 A 1 and 3 of the Anti-Corruption Act and causing financial loss contrary to section 20 of the Anti-Corruption Act 2009.

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