Two members of the Parish Development Committee from Pakoi Parish in Petta Sub-county in Tororo and a mobile money agent have been arrested for allegedly embezzling funds intended for local beneficiaries.
George Owor, the committee chairperson, and Michael Onyango, the secretary and Gerald Okello, a mobile money agent were taken into custody on charges of conspiracy to defraud 17 Parish Development Model (PDM) beneficiaries of over 17 million Ugandan shillings.
The arrests were made following a wave of complaints from the community, who reported that the beneficiaries had not received the funds intended for them despite completion of the required processes.
According to Albert Amula, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner of Tororo, the funds had been cleared through the Wendi system, transferred to mobile money, and withdrawn from the accounts—yet the intended recipients had not received the money.
This came to light after Amula and Tororo District Secretary Works’ Molly Charia made an impromptu visit to Petta Sub-county.
During the visit, they discovered that numerous beneficiaries had been making repeated visits to the Sub-county office in attempts to retrieve their funds, only to leave empty-handed.
Upon investigation, district leaders found that a total of shs17.55 million had been withdrawn from the beneficiaries’ accounts without being disbursed to them, prompting authorities to order the arrests of Owor and Onyango.
In response to this incident, Deputy RDC Amula issued a warning to parish development committees and parish chiefs throughout the district warning them against coercing beneficiaries to withdraw funds from specific mobile money agents who may lack adequate cash reserves.
He also emphasized that officials must refrain from collecting beneficiaries’ phones and mobile PIN numbers, which are sensitive personal information.
This incident highlights a larger issue of alleged mismanagement of Parish Development Model funds across Tororo District.
District authorities have pledged to intensify monitoring and oversight to prevent further abuse of these crucial funds, which are intended to support grassroots development and alleviate poverty among local communities.
The three are currently kept at Tororo central police station.
The incident is a reminder of the ongoing challenges facing the Parish Development Model, a government initiative aimed at bolstering development in Uganda’s parishes.
The RDC is urging community members to report any similar issues to curb corruption and ensure that funds reach the rightful beneficiaries.
