Four Hoima City officials arrested over abuse of office
Mr Amir Nsamo, the Chairperson of Hoima City Service Commission who has been arrested alongside three other officials. Photo | Emmanuel Okello.
What you need to know:
- This is not the first time Hoima City officials are being accused of abuse of office and corruption
Four members of the Hoima City Service Commission have been arrested on charges of abuse of office and forgery.
The officials; Mr Amir Nsamo, the Chairperson of the Service Commission, Mr Ahamad Mugisa, the Principal Assistant Town Clerk, Mr Donald Bategeka, and Mr Ibrahim Bigabwa both members of the commission, were arrested on Monday by a team of detectives from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
Mr Julius Hakiza, the Albertine Regional Police Spokesperson confirmed the arrest but declined to divulge more details.
Ms Mariam Natasha, the Senior Communications Officer at the State House Anti-Corruption Unit said that the suspects were immediately transferred to Kampala to face charges before the Anti-Corruption Court.
“The officials are accused of alleged abuse of office and altering results for the recently conducted interviews to fill the various vacant positions in Hoima City,” she said.
Recently, authorities in Hoima City advertised for various existing vacant positions including teachers, health workers, and law enforcement officers among others.
This is not the first time Hoima City officials are being accused of abuse of office and corruption.
In March this year, three Hoima City Council staff were arrested and detained at Hoima City Central Police Station for alleged abuse of office.
The officials were Ahimbisibwe, the Hoima City Clerk, Bonaventure Kiiiza, the City Engineer, and Physical Planner, Geoffrey Muhumuza. The officials were accused of approving a plan for a condemned building.
They reportedly approved the construction of a storeyed building on top of the condemned Cadam building along Old-Tooro Road in Hoima City in April 2022.
Then, a team of officials from the National Building Review Board headed by Jafar Magezi discovered the anomalies upon inspection of the condemned structure after several complaints were raised by Hoima City residents.
It was discovered that the developer had not submitted structural drawings to the Building Committee, which was contrary to the regulation. The team also found the contractor using dilapidated construction materials including rusted and weak iron bars.
