The Inspectorate of Government has today, Wednesday, September 13, 2023, arrested two officials of Arua District Local Government and three retired head teachers for allegedly causing financial loss to the government contrary to Section 20 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2009,” the statement read.
The IG’s office said that Isreal Echoku, the Principal Human Resource Officer, and Natal Opima, the Senior Accounts Assistant, irregularly made double payments of gratuities amounting to sh99.9 million to Jackson Abidrabo, Mike Oliver Mulander, and Samuel Darlington Acidri between July 2009 and June 2020, with knowledge or belief that their actions would cause financial loss to the government.
Pulse Uganda has learned that the three individuals who were wrongly paid are headteachers in government schools in Arua.
The five suspects are expected to appear at the anti-corruption court today, Thursday, September 14, 2023.
According to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021, Uganda scored 27 out of 100, which is below the sub-saharan average of 33 points and below the global average of 43 points.
The study, which used information from 13 global sources, targeted a total of 189 countries, 49 of them in Africa.
The government has been under immense pressure from the public and development partners (donors) for its failure to fight corruption.
Despite government efforts such as passing anti-corruption laws and putting in place institutions such as the Inspectorate of Government, corruption in Uganda has been persistent.
Last year, though,the State Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Rose Lilly Akello, revealed that the government had managed to recover Sh100 billion from the corrupt.