Corruption: Balaam orders interdiction of eight Mitooma officials

What the report says

Uganda’s minister of Local Government, Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, has ordered the interdiction of eight Mitooma district officials amid allegations of mismanagement, neglect of duty and other administrative irregularities, according to The Observer. The directive was sent through district chief administrative officer Amis Asuman Masereka to the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ben Kumumanya, for action.

The officials named include the district health officer, district education officer, a senior engineer acting as district engineer, a civil engineer for water, a senior environment officer, a senior assistant secretary, an ambulance driver and a medical officer. The report says some are linked to concerns over road funds, environment oversight and alleged poor work on public projects. The district engineer, for example, is accused of mishandling more than Shs 1 billion in road money, while the environment officer is said to have failed to act as Rutenga wetland was reportedly being degraded.

The move followed complaints from district chairperson Alex Karitundu, who pointed to several projects that he said were incomplete despite full or near-full payment. These include a seed school, a skilling centre, a bridge, a health centre and irrigation schemes. The article says the minister also ordered the arrest of district service commission chairperson Sam Tugume Karakuza over alleged extortion from job seekers.

Barugahara further instructed the Inspectorate of Government, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, the resident district commissioner and the Criminal Investigations Directorate to investigate the complaints. The case matters because it raises broader concerns about public spending, project delivery and recruitment practices in a district that has faced repeated administrative disputes, as described by the newspaper.