The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Rakai, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Three government officials have been arrested on charges of abuse of office, false accounting, and causing financial loss worth 23.56 million Shillings.
They are Rakai District Chief Administrative Officer Christopher Ahimbisibwe, 52, Muhanga Town Council the Senior Treasurer Godwin Asiimwe, 52, and Kabale Municipality Central Division Accounts Assistant Stella Tushabomwe, 51. Ahimbisibwe was last month transferred to Rakai district from Rubanda.
According to the Inspectorate of Government (IG), the trio, while working at the Northern Division in Kabale Municipality between July 1, 2015, and April 30, 2016, irregularly made out payments of safari day allowances for a trip that never happened. Safari allowances are paid to cater for incidentals and meals whenever officials travel within the country for six hours or more within a day.
During the same period, the officials irregularly requisitioned, authorized, and paid out 23,556,000 Shillings and fictitiously accounted for it, knowing that it could cause financial loss. They are also accused of knowingly furnishing false statements in respect to the money that they paid to themselves over safari day allowances that did not happen. Ahimbisibwe was working in Northern Division as the Principal Assistant Town Clerk, and Asiimwe as the Senior Treasurer, and Tushabomwe as Accounts assistant.
Today, the three appeared before the anti-Corruption Court Chief magistrate Joan Achiro and they were jointly charged with abuse of office contrary to section 11(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2009, causing financial loss contrary to section 20(1) of the anti-corruption act 2009 and false accounting by a public officer contrary to section 22 of the anti-corruption act 2009.
Achiro, however, released the suspects on a three million Shillings court bail and adjourned the case until February 3, 2022.
Sam Agaba, the Regional Inspectorate Officer of Kabale told our reporter that, the trio was arrested on Thursday evening from different areas. According to Agaba, Asiimwe and Tusbabomwe were arrested by police from Kabale while Ahimbisibwe was traced and arrested from the Mpigi district where he was in hiding.
Agaba also says that both Asiimwe and Tushabomwe first resisted arrest by fighting police but were later overpowered and taken to Kampala where they appeared before the court today. Agaba says that investigations carried out implicated the trio and was given enough time to refund the money but remained adamant.
Agaba warns civil servants and other members of the public to shun all sorts of corruption vices and cherish transparency.
In April 2017, Ahimbisibwe was listed among 54 Chief Administrative Officers and Town Clerks blacklisted and at risk of being sacked for failure to respond satisfactorily to the Auditor General’s queries about their handling of public resources and assets.
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