BUNDIBUGYO – Two top officials of Bundibugyo Town Council – the Town Clerk and the Commercial Officer – have been arrested by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit during a heated public Baraza presided over by the Minister for Local Government, Hon. Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi.
The arrests were made after the Minister inspected collapsed bridges and listened to residents who turned the Baraza into an Expose the Corrupt session, detailing years of neglect and extortion.
The Town Clerk’s arrest stems from allegations of negligence to inspect and supervise bridges that later collapsed.
Last month, River Lugo burst its banks during a night storm and destroyed the Lugo Bridge, cutting off transport along the Kirindi–Kisonko road. The bridge is an important infrastructure, linking residents of Harugale and Ngite sub-counties to other areas.
Likewise, the bridge over River Tokwe has been damaged, cutting off Kanyamwerima, Bundinyama, and Hakitara communities from Bundibugyo Town.
Residents told the Baraza that despite repeated warnings about cracks and poor drainage, the Town Clerk as accounting officer never deployed engineers for inspection.
During the open session, residents were given opportunity to raise concerns about service delivery, report corruption-related issues and engage directly with government officials.
In a related development, the Town Council Commercial Officer was also arrested on the spot following new complaints that she has been extorting money from poor beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model (PDM).
According to whistleblowers at the Baraza, the officer was charging money for registration and membership into PDM SACCOs.
This mirrors cases elsewhere where officials were arrested for extortion. In Kyegegwa, officials including the Principal Commercial Officer were arrested after receiving complaints from SACCO members who were asked to pay 70,000- 150,000 Shillings for registration and membership into the SACCO.
Hon. Balaam reminded residents that according to the PDM guidelines, beneficiaries are not supposed to pay any money to district officials.
The PDM program has been marred by corruption, extortion, ghost members, and bribery, prompting President Museveni to direct Hon. Balaam with State House Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate these issues across the country.
The Commercial Officer, who is the focal point person in charge of financial inclusion pillar three of PDM, was arrested to aid investigations into falsifying accountability and extorting vulnerable beneficiaries.