Kerry Howard Mwesigwa
Five government officials from Kitgum district, who stand accused of diverting SH526 million allocated for the implementation of the Parish Development Model (PDM), have been released on bail. Joel Musisi, the Chief Administrative Officer of Kitgum District Local Government; Stephen Omony Lakwonyero, the Principal Assistant Secretary; Agnes Aryemo, the Sector Accountant; Morish Atwom, the District Senior Commercial Officer, and Denish Ocira, the District Agriculture Officer, were each granted bail by Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro at the Anti-Corruption Court.
Chief Magistrate Joan Aciro, presiding over the case, found the sureties provided by the accused officials to be substantial and accordingly granted them cash bail of SH3.5 million. The court also directed the sureties to execute a non-cash bond worth SH10 million. Justifying the decision, Chief Magistrate Aciro ruled that the charges faced by the accused officials allowed for bail at the court’s discretion.
The charges brought against the accused officials stem from the alleged diversion of public resources, as outlined in Sections 6 and 26 of the Anti-Corruption Court Act 2009. If found guilty, the accused are looking at a maximum prison sentence of ten years.
Prosecution claims that between July and August 2022, the accused officials diverted SH526.4 million from the Kitgum District Local Government offices. Instead of utilizing the funds for their intended purpose of implementing the PDM, the accused allegedly directed the money towards unrelated activities, benefiting third parties. An anonymous official from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit disclosed that these activities included the training of council and sub-county members, as well as facilitating the district service commission in recruiting technical staff, among others.
The accused officials are further alleged to have facilitated the district service commission in conducting interviews and procuring tents for the interviews, actions that deviated from the prescribed use of the funds.
