The handling of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds has continued to land some local government officials and leaders of Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (Saccos) in trouble, with the latest cases making it to court.
Working with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) of the Uganda Police Force, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU) has caused the arraignment of a town clerk and a town agent (parish chief) over theft of PDM funds.
Winfred Nansikombi, the Town Clerk for Ndejje Town Council and Joseph Male Nsereko, the Town Agent/Parish Chief of Buyego Ward appeared before the Luwero Chief Magistrate’s Court on charges of theft and conspiracy to defraud.
Court remanded Nansikombi and Male Nsereko until July 24, 2024. SH-ACU and CID detectives are still hunting for James Noah Semayobe, the Luwero District Commercial Officer, who is said to have also had a hand in the case but is still on the run.
Prosecution alleges that between the months of November and December 2023, the accused trio, during the disbursement of PDM money for the third phase in Luwero District, manipulated the beneficiaries list and fraudulently inserted 19 names of their relatives and friends who are not even residents of the area.
It is further alleged that Nansikombi, Male Nsereko and Semayobe also paid these 19 relatives and friends PDM money and that the rightful beneficiaries were unable to get the money they hoped to use to drive them out of poverty and catapult them into the money economy.
More shockingly, the 19 people who were fraudulently inserted included two daughters of the Town clerk, according to SH-ACU. Also arraigned but in a different court over PDM money was Hadijjah Ntongo, the treasurer of Seeta Nazigo PDM Sacco in Mukono District.
Ntongo, who faces two charges of theft, appeared before the Magistrate Grade 1 Court of Nakisunga in Mukono District.
Prosecution alleged that in the month of October 2023, while at Seeta Nazigo in Nakisunga sub-county of Mukono District, Ntogo reportedly stole PDM money from members of her SACCO by fraudulently changing the details of the actual beneficiaries, Jackson Luyima and Denis Kiryowa.
Nantongo is accused of replacing Luyima and Kiryowa with two of her children. The children’s accounts were credited with Shs1.4m. Ntongo will be on remand until July 17, 2024.
The arrests and arraignments come as President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to crush corrupt people. This week, the president presented his plan to fight corruption during a retreat for ministers, permanent secretaries and the ruling NRM top brass.
Leave a Reply