The entire technical staff of Nansana Municipal Council in Wakiso District have been handed over to the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to help further investigations over alleged embezzlement of over Shs. 1.8 billion (UGX One point Eight Billion) meant for service delivery in the Municipality.

The move follows a petition by the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Wakiso, Ms. Rose Kirabira and the Councilors of the Municipality led by their chief petitioner, Mr. Kiyita Daniel Mivule who is Nansana East Councilor in Wakiso District to the Anti-Corruption Unit in State House.

The petition prompted the Head of the Anti-Corruption Unit in State House, Lt. Col. Edith Nakalema to swing into action.

“We have commenced investigations about these allegations. I am calling upon the public and good citizens of Uganda to help in this investigation because we want Nansana to regain its glory. Our offices are open 24 hours to receive corruption-related complaints. So all the technical staff of Nansana Municipality are to be handed over to the Permanent Secretary who will also hand them over to Police for further investigations,” she said.

Lt. Col. Nakalema told the meeting that was held yesterday at the Municipality Chambers in Nansana, and attended by leaders of the Municipality as well as technocrats, that her office received a report on the 21st of January 2020 claiming that Nansana was in a bad shape. The report, she said, was followed by a delegation of Councilors  from Nansana who presented a damning petition of alleged massive corruption in the Municipality. 

The petition pointed out that over Shs.1.8 billion had been embezzled by the leaders of the Municipality. The funds are said to have been locally generated from the property rates for the purpose of garbage collection, drainage and installation of the municipal street lights, among many other priority programs. It is alleged that the funds were diverted to non-priority areas that were not provided for by the law.

The petitioners also alleged that Shs. 250 million that had been provided by donors to Nansana to support HIV/AIDS initiative programme, was embezzled and banked in a personal account of one of the staff members close to the Town Clerk, Ambrose Atoko.

The petition further disclosed that the corrupt tendencies did not spare the greening project of Nansana whose funds provided by the government disappeared into thin air and according to the chief petitioner, the road funds for Nansana, amounting to over Shs. 1 billion, had also been stolen.

Lt. Col. Nakalema told the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Local Government, Mr. Benjamin Kumumanya, to take immediate action and hand over the Town Clerk of Nansana, Mr. Ambrose Atoko to Police CID for further investigations.

She, however, called upon all Ugandans to exercise their constitutional right of identifying, preventing and exposing corruption in the country.

Local Government Permanent Secretary, Mr. Benjamin Kumumanya, commended the RDC Wakiso District, Ms. Rose Kirabira and the Councilors of Nansana, for their bold action in the fight against corruption. He added that the decentralization system of government was meant to take services nearer to the people and vowed to take immediate action on those found culpable of embezzling government funds.

“You have exhibited that people are in charge of their destiny. I will do all it takes to cure this disease in Nansana. Action is going to be taken immediately,” he vowed. ENDS.