Mitooma — Several officials from Mitooma District have been arrested over allegations of selling government jobs and extorting money from applicants during ongoing local government recruitment exercises.
The arrests were carried out on Thursday afternoon by the State House Anti Corruption Unit working together with Uganda Police Force in Mitooma District.
Those arrested include Mrs. Nakityo Joanita, the Chief Administrative Officer; Mr. Mugisha Sadic, the District Health Officer; Mr. Tugume Sam Karakuza, Chairperson of the District Service Commission; and Mr. Nabimanya Richard, the Senior Education Officer. Authorities said other suspects remain on the run.
According to the Anti-Corruption Unit, investigations indicate that Mrs. Nakityo repeatedly interfered with the work of the District Service Commission by taking over responsibilities such as scheduling interviews and selecting technical advisors for the commission. She is also alleged to have directly influenced the scoring of candidates by the Commission’s chairperson.
Mr. Tugume Sam Karakuza is accused of extorting between Shs7 million and Shs25 million from at least 23 job applicants, allegedly promising to secure them positions in the ongoing recruitment process.
Investigators further allege that the District Health Officer, Mr. Mugisha Sadic, engaged in influence peddling to ensure certain candidates were shortlisted and highly scored. Two candidates are said to have received scores of 48 out of 50. He is also accused of leaking interview questions and answers to some applicants to give them an unfair advantage.
Mr. Nabimanya Richard, the Senior Education Officer, is alleged to have contacted the District Service Commission chairperson to lobby for favourable assessments for certain education officers during interviews.
Authorities also named Mrs. Owarimpa Esther, a Parish Chief and LC3 Councillor for Kashenshero Sub-county in Mitooma District, as one of the suspects still at large. She is accused of extorting money from job seekers while falsely promising to secure them employment.
The Anti-Corruption Unit said investigations are ongoing and corruption-related charges are expected to be preferred against the suspects in the coming days.
The public has been urged to report incidents of extortion and bribery during recruitment processes to relevant authorities.
