The State House Anti-Corruption Unit working together with Uganda Police has arrested the Principal Human Resource Officer of Pader district, Nancy Aber for irregular payments of pension and gratuity funds in the district.

Aber alongside Ali Dundas, a retired teacher were arrested on August 02, 2023, after the Statehouse Anti-Corruption Unit visited Pader district and made inquiries on pension payments and payrolls.

While looking into payrolls, the team found out that Aber had inflated payments for pensioners, a case in point was when in connivance, Aber paid Dundas Ugx 68million instead of Ugx 28million with an exaggeration of over Ugx 40million.

During the Financial Year 2017/2018, the Ministry of Finance sent over Ugx 2Billion as pension and gratuity for pensioners in Pader district with the verified and approved list of pensioners.

It was also found out that Aber, the then Principal Human Resource Officer, refused to pay 19 pensioners who did not cooperate in a way of paying bribes.

In the subsequent FY of 2019/20, Aber also paid one of the pensioners only Ugx 21million instead of Ugx 48million which was approved by the Ministry. Aber is further accused of paying salaries to four ghost persons who died two years back.

According to Caroline Adong, one of the retired Civil Servants, the issue of corruption and mismanagement of funds at the district was raised last year but nothing was done.

“There has been deliberate non-payment of salaries to civil servants without clear reasons, over-payments, underpayments, ghost workers, pension payments, payment of salary using wrong scales and delayed removal of staff from payroll upon death, and all this was raised last year and we are happy that action has been taken,” Adong said.

Aber and Dundas are still being held at Pader Central Police Station as further investigations into the matter continue.