Three officials arrested over alleged misuse of PDM, Emyoga funds
Plain clothed police arrest Emyoga & PDM suspects at RDC office. PHOTO BY PEREZ RUMANZI
What you need to know:
The arrested individuals include Augustine Abenaitwe, PDM Chairperson for Kayenje Parish in Rweikiniro Sub-county; Aramathan Kwega from Rukanga Parish in Nyabihoko Sub-county; and Remigio Tumwiine, Chairperson of the Boda Boda Emyoga SACCO in Ruhaama Main County
The Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Ntungamo, Ms Rosemary Atuheire, on Thursday ordered the arrest of three leaders from PDM and Emyoga SACCOs for allegedly embezzling funds meant for beneficiaries and soliciting bribes to process their loans.
The arrested individuals include Augustine Abenaitwe, PDM Chairperson for Kayenje Parish in Rweikiniro Sub-county; Aramathan Kwega from Rukanga Parish in Nyabihoko Sub-county; and Remigio Tumwiine, Chairperson of the Boda Boda Emyoga SACCO in Ruhaama Main County.
The trio was handed over to police after a visit to the SACCO offices by the Deputy RDC, following numerous complaints from beneficiaries. The arrests were made after they failed to refund the missing funds.
“We engaged them, and by Monday, they had refunded the money they had misappropriated. One refunded Shs2.5m, another Shs 750,000, and the third returned Shs10m of the Shs25m he had taken from the Ruhaama Boda Boda SACCO. We appreciate the efforts of the police and local leaders in enforcing the recovery of these funds,” Ms Atuheire told Monitor.
Ms Atuheire revealed that some Emyoga SACCO leaders had shared the funds among themselves, excluding legitimate beneficiaries, while PDM leaders compiled lists of beneficiaries that were not selected by the members. Additionally, these leaders were asking members to pay money for processing their files, despite the government already covering such costs.
She emphasized that the primary aim of the arrests is to recover the misappropriated funds, rather than prosecution. As a result, the suspects are released after admitting to their misconduct and refunding the stolen money.
Since January, over Shs100m has been recovered from misappropriated funds. This financial year, Ntungamo District has received over Shs2.5b for distribution among 238 parishes.
Several leaders of Emyoga and PDM SACCOs have been accused of misusing the government revolving funds, which are intended to support small businesses and promote agriculture as a viable enterprise.
