In a significant crackdown on corruption, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit in collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (@ODPPUGANDA), has arraigned six Ntungamo district officials before the Anti-Corruption Division. The officials face charges of *Causing Financial Loss* and *Abuse of Office* in connection with a UGX 1 billion capitation grant scandal.
The accused include:
1. Bahati Fred ,District Education Officer (DEO),
2. Nabaasa Gordon,Municipal Education Officer (MEO),
3. Nabasa Rushegyera Abias ,Former Head Teacher of Ntungamo Primary School,
4. Komuhangi Allen,Head Teacher of Ruhoko Primary School,
5. Munuunura Bernards,Head Teacher of Maato Primary School, and
6. Ntereire Geoffrey,Head Teacher of Kikoni SDA Primary School.
The officials have been remanded until March 18 and March 20, 2025,respectively, as investigations continue.
According to the charges, the head teachers, employed by the Ntungamo District Local Government, allegedly inflated the number of pupils in their schools to secure larger capitation grants from the government. The education officers, responsible for verifying the figures, failed to conduct proper oversight before forwarding the data to the Ministry of Education and Sports (@Educ_SportsUg) for fund disbursement.
Investigations revealed that during the 2023/2024 financial year, the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development (@mofpedU) disbursed capitation grants for 124,817 pupils across 249 Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools in Ntungamo District. However, the actual number of pupils in the district was approximately 80,000,exposing a discrepancy of over 40,000 "ghost" pupils.This fraudulent activity resulted in a financial loss of approximately UGX 1 billion.
The case highlights systemic flaws in the management of capitation grants and underscores the need for stricter oversight to prevent similar incidents in the future. The accused officials now face severe legal consequences as the Anti-Corruption Division seeks to recover the lost funds and hold those responsible accountable.
