Africa-Press – Uganda. Nine officials from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) have been interdicted on accusations of procuring substandard relief items for the flood victims in Kasese District.The head of State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Col Edith Nakalema, told Daily Monitor yesterday that they arrested four of the officials while five are on the run.
“The instructions were clear; that we track the suspects on the alleged mismanagement and fake procurement of Kasese flood victims’ items. We tracked four suspects and handed them over to police for further investigations,” Ms Nakalema told journalists in Kampala yesterday.On July 22, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja instructed Col Nakalema to investigate allegations of corruption in the procurement of beans, mosquito nets and blankets for the victims of the Kasese floods. “All the nine implicated have been interdicted by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister as investigations continue,” Col Nakalema said yesterday.According to police, the arrested officials are Mr Godfrey Kayima, the accounting officer; Ms Rose Nakabogo, the acting commissioner for disaster preparedness; Ms Ester M Odongo, the procurement officer; and Mr Henry Agaba Tumwine, the internal auditor. The deputy spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan Police Area, Mr Luke Owoyesigire, told journalists that investigations are underway.“Our investigation is focusing on how the procurement process was conducted. For instance, did they follow the procurement process? Then the items they supplied to the people; were they of standard?” Mr Owoyesigire said.He added that police have also arrested two suppliers to help with the investigations.IssueOn July 20, Prime Minister Nabbanja visited Kasese District to assess the extent of damage that was caused when River Nyamwamba recently burst its banks and displaced thousands of people. The Prime Minister was later meant to hand over relief items, including bed nets, beans and blankets, to the displaced people currently staying in makeshift shelters in schools and hospital compounds. But she rejected them, saying they were of poor quality.
