Karuma dam: Police probe two company officials over bribes

Police at Kamdini Police Station at Kamdini Corner, Oyam District, are investigating allegations of bribery and extortion lodged against Sinohydro Corporation Ltd human resource officers.

Two of the company workers on Friday recorded statements at the police station alleging that Mr Robert Opudu and Mr Isaac Kimenya Girigonye asked them to pay bribes amounting to Shs1.1million in order to be offered jobs that the company advertised three weeks ago.

Sinohydro Corporation Ltd is a Chinese state-owned hydro power engineering and construction company contracted by Uganda government to build the $1.5billion (about Shs5.6 trillion) Karuma Hydro power station in Kiryandongo District.

Statement recorded
When contacted by Sunday Monitor, the police officer who asked for anonymity, confirmed that they had recorded a statement from Mr Tonny Ochen, a staff of Sinohydro Ltd over the allegations and have launched an inquiry into the case.

“We entered the case in our files and the complainant recorded a statement with reference number SD REF: 15/04/05/18(obtaining money by false pretence). It is not the first time this complaint is coming to us about Mr Opudu but when we summon him he stubbornly does not appear,” he said.

The police officer said they tasked the second complainant to return with his colleagues with who he claimed Mr Kimenya had picked Shs650,000 from in order to be recruited as fabricators.

Mr Ocen (complainant) told Sunday Monitor that he paid Shs350,000 to Mr Opudu when he applied for the position of a safety officer but he never got the job and only ended up as a porter at the construction firm.

“When I came to apply, He [Opudu] told me that those who do not pay money are not recruited for jobs at Sinohydro. I rang my dad who immediately sent me Shs200,000 that I topped up and gave him,” he said.

Mr Ochen said he only wants Mr Opudu to pay back his money after he discovered that all recruitments at the company are free.

Denied allegations
When contacted, Mr Opudu denied the accusations.
“Those are wrong and baseless accusations, as Robert I have never picked any monetary bribe from anyone and I will never pick it. As human resource, all our services are free of charge and it is clearly written there [on the noticeboard] for these workers to see,” he said.

Mr Ochen, however, presented to police telephone recordings between him and Mr Opudu of how they bargained for the pay.

Common practice
When this newspaper visited Karuma power site, of the 15 interviewed workers, 12 said the Sinohydro Ltd human resource officers demanded payment from them in order to be recruited for the jobs.

Of the 12 workers, three of them revealed particular names of officers to whom they paid money but were instead recruited into different fields from what they initially thought they were paying for.

Victims who spoke to this newspaper said the officers demands between Shs100,000 and Shs350,000 in bribes from every job applicant depending on the position advertised.

One victim [name withheld] from Bulambuli District said he applied for a driving slot but he ended up being hired as a porter after allegedly paying a bribe of Shs650,000.

“We came four of us from Bulambuli District but were made to pay a bribe of Shs650,000. We had applied for positions of drivers but instead we were employed as porters,” he claimed.

Take disciplinary action
Mr Simon Kasyate, the corporate affairs manager at Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd, declined to discuss the matter.
“If the workers ran to police, I would wish not to interfere with police investigations. Let them carryout their own findings and I am sure Sinohydro company will take appropriate disciplinary actions against the accused staff members,” Mr Kasyate said.

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