“We must work together to clean up our local government offices at every level. Public jobs are a trust, not a commodity for sale. Corruption has no place in public service, and anyone found responsible should be held accountable in accordance with the law,” he added.
Minister for Local Government Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi has revealed that information provided by residents of Kayunga District was instrumental in exposing an alleged government jobs-for-sale racket, leading to the arrest of three district officials by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
Speaking after the arrests, Barugahara commended members of the public for courageously reporting the alleged corruption, saying their cooperation enabled investigators to crack down on the suspected syndicate.
“I commend the people of Kayunga for courageously exposing corruption in the District Service Commission. It is estimated that fake jobs worth approximately sh840m were sold through the Commission Secretary,” the minister said in a statement posted on his X account.
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He disclosed that over the past two weeks, his office and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit had received numerous calls from members of the public providing information about the alleged racket.
“Many members of the public have been calling and providing valuable information. I also extend my sincere appreciation to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit for taking swift action. Several individuals have already recorded statements as investigations continue,” Barugahara said.
The minister stressed that public employment should never be commercialised, urging citizens to continue reporting corruption in local government offices.
“We must work together to clean up our local government offices at every level. Public jobs are a trust, not a commodity for sale. Corruption has no place in public service, and anyone found responsible should be held accountable in accordance with the law,” he added.
The State House Anti-Corruption Unit arrested Dickson Ssebbowa, the Secretary to the Kayunga District Service Commission (DSC), Abdul Munulo, the District Human Resource Officer, and Prossy Nalujja, a clinical officer at Wabwoko Health Centre III, over their alleged involvement in the scheme.
According to a source within the Anti-Corruption Unit who requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, the three suspects are believed to be part of a larger network that allegedly extorted money from people seeking employment in Kayunga District.
Investigators allege that the syndicate collected money from job seekers while promising them government jobs, but many victims never received the positions they had paid for.
Nalujja is alleged to have acted as a middleperson by collecting money from applicants and delivering it to officials within the District Service Commission who allegedly coordinated the recruitment racket.
Authorities estimate that victims may have lost up to sh840m through the alleged scheme.
The State House Anti-Corruption Unit says investigations are ongoing and that several other individuals have already recorded statements, with more arrests expected as detectives pursue other suspects believed to be linked to the network.
The arrests form part of the Unit’s wider campaign to eliminate corruption in public service recruitment and ensure that government jobs are awarded on merit rather than through bribery.
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