Mitooma– On Thursday, Anti-corruption Unit of State House in collaboration with Uganda Police in Mitooma District have arrested several district officials from on allegations of selling government jobs and extorting money from job applicants during recent and ongoing Local Government recruitment exercises.
The arrested officials include: Mrs. Nakityo Joanita, Chief Administrative Officer, Mr. Mugisha Sadic-District Health Officer, Mr. Tugume Sam Karakuza, Chairperson of the District Service Commission, Mr. Nabimanya Richard, Senior Education Officer while others are still on the run.
Investigations reveal that Mrs. Nakityo Joanita, the Chief Administrative Officer, has repeatedly interfered with the functions of the Service Commission by taking over responsibilities such as scheduling interviews and selecting technical advisors for the commission.
Additionally, it is alleged that she directly influenced the scoring of candidates by the Chairperson of the District Service Commission, Mr. Tugume Sam Karakuza. It is alleged that Tugume extorted amounts ranging from UGX 7 million to UGX 25 million from 23 candidates, promising them jobs in the ongoing recruitment.
Mr. Mugisha Sadic, the District Health Officer, is acused of having engaged in influence peddling to ensure specific candidates were included and scored highly, with two candidates receiving a score of 48 out of 50. He also leaked interview questions and answers to certain applicants to aid their preparations and gain an unfair advantage over others.
Mr. Nabimanya Richard, the Senior Education Officer, participated in influence peddling by contacting the Chairperson of the District Service Commission to secure favorable assessments for some education officers during interviews.
Other suspects on the run include Mrs. Owarimpa Esther, Parish Chief and LC3 Councillor of Kashenshero Sub-county, Mitooma district who allegedly extorted money from applicants promising them jobs an assurance that was false.
Investigations are still ongoing with possible corruption charges soon to be levied upon the suspects in the coming days.
The public is called upon to report incidents of extortion during recruitment to the authorities.
