Police on Thursday searched the home of Igara East Member of Parliament Michael Mawanda, who was arrested on Wednesday in relation to the alleged mismanagement of 164 billion shillings meant for the compensation of cooperatives affected by armed conflicts in Uganda.
Detectives combed his house from morning until late afternoon. Mawanda was later taken back to detention at Nateete Police Station.
Detectives also searched the home of Ignatius Mudimi, the Elgon County MP in Buramburi District. Mudimi was later detained at Kira Road Police Station in Wakiso District.
Five legislators have so far been arrested and some already undergoing trial over corruption charges.
The arrests come in after endless cries from the public over the endless misuse of taxpayers’ money by government officials with impunity. Severally, many officials have been arrested and charged but later played around with the cases and got exonerated even when the evidence is glaring.
During the recent Mbaati saga crackdown, many culprits who accepted having picked the iron sheets were later cleared by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions even without returning the iron sheets. Ugandans have since got used to the fact that the government has no will to fight corruption since the arrested are cleared without anything being done.
The CID is investigating allegations of inflated payments, non-existent claimants, and embezzlement of funds meant for cooperative societies.
Former State Minister for Trade, Harriet Ntababazi last year revealed that up to 30 legislators were facing criminal investigation over their alleged role in the embezzlement of the UGX 164 billion.
The re-arrest of Busiki County MP, Paul Akamba, is also said to be connected to the Cooperative’s money.
The management of cooperative compensation funds in Uganda has been plagued by allegations of corruption and embezzlement. In 2011/2012, the Ugandan government allocated UGX 164 billion to compensate cooperative societies that lost funds and property during wars between 1979 and 2006.
However, the distribution of these funds has been marred by irregularities, with some MPs and government officials accused of conspiring to mismanage and embezzle the funds.
In August 2023, the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, instructed the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry to conduct an inquiry into the management of the cooperative compensation funds.