IGG probes Kyambogo varsity over corruption

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) has been petitioned to investigate alleged corruption at Kyambogo University regarding double payment for Information Technology (IT) services.

According to a February 24 complaint by a whistleblower, government has lost millions of shillings in the alleged fraud at the institution’s Directorate of Information Technology, which alleged corruption is being committed with full knowledge of management.

The whistleblower contends that government through the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and National Guidance, procured a management system that supports all public universities in Uganda.

However, it is alleged by the whistleblower that despite government paying for the same IT services, Dr John Okuozi, the director of Information, Communication Technology (ICT) and another staff, Mr Henry Tumusiime, have created a parallel company to offer IT services, which the university pays for.

“The ministry of Information, Communication and Technology and National Guidance procured a management system that supports all public universities in Uganda, including Kyambogo University. This system is paid for by government and is used by all public universities,” reads in part the whistle blower’s petition before the IGG.

Adding: “Despite this, Dr Okuozi and Henry Tumusiime continue to motivate for, initiate and conclude fictitious procurement processes for the same system that the government already pays for. This is done through a company named Compusoft Uganda Ltd in its bank account in dfcu Bank.”

Ms Munira Ali, the spokesperson of the ombudsman, yesterday confirmed receiving the whistleblower’s petition, adding that it is undergoing preliminary investigation.

In one of the alleged corruption incidents, the whistleblower has enclosed minutes to the IGG in which the aforementioned two staff caused payment of Shs79m to their company in 2018 alone.

The whistleblower claims the payment process was repeated every year for the last four years causing financial loss to the university.

When contacted, the aforementioned staff denied ever causing financial loss to the university. 

“If there is anything like that, ask the ministry of ICT,” Dr Okuonzi said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Likewise, Mr Tumusiime denied owning a company called Compusoft to offer parallel IT services to Kyambogo University. 

“I don’t own such a company and I don’t offer IT services to the university in that regard, although I am a software engineer at the institution,” Mr Tumusiime said by telephone yesterday.

The whistleblower further in the petition, accuses the duo of having had unjustified promotions at the university and yet their academic credentials are in question for having studied from a non-existent university in Burkina Faso.

“...For all the time they claim to have studied in Burkina Faso, a Francophone country, they were living in Uganda. They also don’t know the French language,” the whistleblower avers.

Mr Tumusiime laughed-off the claims about questionable academic papers, explaining that the Burkina Faso University exists and that it even has partnerships with Kyambogo and Makerere universities. 

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