Five senior officials in Ssembabule District have been implicated in an anti-corruption operation spearheaded by the Minister for Local Government, Balaam Barugahara, with four already arrested and another set to be prosecuted over alleged corruption and abuse of office.
In a statement issued after an anti-corruption engagement in the district, the Minister said the operation followed an interactive meeting with local leaders and residents, whose information led to the arrests.
The arrested officials include the Ssembabule Town Clerk, the Chief Finance Officer, the District Land Officer, Mr. Kananura, and the Forest Officer, all of whom are accused of various acts of alleged corruption.
The minister also revealed that the District Health Officer will be formally charged before the Anti-Corruption Court over allegations of stealing hospital equipment.
Balaam said all the implicated officials will be interdicted to pave the way for transparent, impartial and expeditious investigations. He added that replacement officers will be deployed to ensure continuity of public service, while the district’s Chief Administrative Officer will be recalled to the Ministry’s headquarters.
He thanked the people of Ssembabule for cooperating with investigators and commended the agencies involved in the operation, including the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, State House Legal, the Ministry of Works technical team, the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), the Internal Security Organisation (ISO), the Office of the President, Crime Intelligence and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).
Balaam said the joint efforts under the Expose the Corruption campaign are aimed at restoring integrity in public service and strengthening accountability in local governments.
“There is no room for impunity or corruption in this Kisanja. We remain committed to strengthening accountability, restoring public trust and improving service delivery across all local governments,” he said.
The minister also announced that the anti-corruption campaign will continue in Mbarara City next Tuesday, where he called upon residents of the greater Ankole region to provide credible information on corruption, abuse of office and poor service delivery to support ongoing investigations.