Tension as State House anti-corruption unit grills Moroto officials

State House Anti-Corruption Unit has launched investigation into various corruption allegations against officials of Moroto District local government and Moroto regional referral hospital.

The unit, which is under the Command of Lt. Colonel Edith Nakalema is currently grilling staff at Moroto regional referral hospital and the district officials mainly over alleged mismanagement of public funds and abuse of office.

Tension was high following news that Lt. Col. Nakalema and her team would pitch camp in the Karamoja region.
Information about Nakalema’s visit started trickling in last week.
Tension was already high by Monday evening when official communication came in indicating that the team would be meeting Moroto District Officials today.
By 12:30pm, Moroto Chamber Hall, was almost empty as officers scattered to make consultations in small groups of three to five people.

Others kept moving from one seat seeking more information about Nakalema’s visit. The Moroto Chief Administrative Officer, Charles Kumakech was seen consulting with the District Engineer and other heads of department. The Moroto Regional Referral Hospital Director, Dr Alfred Francis Ogwag was also in talks with his board chair, Mark Aol Musooka and other staff in the hospital.

Some of the officers were seen in groups with police detectives and other security operatives as they waited for Nakalema’s arrival. At the district and Municipal headquarters, almost all offices were empty as the occupants paced up and down, awaiting Nakalema’s arrival.

At the district and municipal notice boards, details of central government grant transfers for the first quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year were pinned by Monday, which hasn’t been the practice. Stanley Eroku, the spokesman of the State House Anti-Corruption unit, said the team is in Moroto for a Barraza.

Asked if there were specific spots or offices of interest, Eroku said it was too early to comment on such matters. However, information obtained from some sources in Moroto indicates that the unit is interested in among others construction of staff houses and maternity ward at Moroto Regional Referral Hospital.

This is the first time the unit is setting foot in Karamoja since its launch in December 2018. The team has in the past picked up several civil servants for bungling up government projects and theft of public funds.
Some of the key issues residents want Lt. Col. Nakalema to investigate include why the district officials have failed to drill boreholes yet they received money for that purpose.

Other issues are related to poor health service delivery and alleged nepotism at the regional referral hospital.
Lt. Col Nakalema on Tuesday said the hospital spent Shs 20 million to facilitate a friendly football match between Moroto District staff members and Soroti yet the health facility was in total darkness over electricity issues.
“I’m here to sort out the pain that our ordinary Ugandans have raised related to the corruption in the hospital,” she said.
The grilling is underway at Moroto Chamber Hall.