As Uganda’s communities prepared for the Christmas and the New year, season—a time of joy, generosity, and goodwill—residents of Namutumba District are gripped by outrage.
The shocking widespread embezzlement of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds, meant to uplift the poorest, has sparked widespread anger in President Museveni who recently, while on upcountry tours instructed security to pace up the fight against the thieves and ordered for no grant of Police bond to the accused. The impunity with which PDM funds are being stolen leaves many asking a painful question: How will government eradicate poverty while initiatives like PDM are being failed by the focal people?
On December 19, 2024, Ofwono Emmanuel, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of Namutumba District, following security investigations and acting with rare determination, issued interdiction letters to five District officers accused of orchestrating a massive web of fraud. These officers are alleged to have brazenly pocketed PDM funds meant for Uganda’s most vulnerable, turning a government initiative aimed at reducing poverty into a personal enrichment scheme.
Among the interdicted is Faruk Mwisi, the Senior Commercial Officer of Namutumba, whose dismissal letter lays bare damning accusations. The interdiction letter states that despite repeated training and clear guidelines, Mwisi allegedly disregarded all protocols and colluded with others to divert millions intended for PDM beneficiaries. The document reveals that his actions not only defied procedures but also defrauded Namutumba’s struggling citizens—teachers, farmers, and small-scale business owners—of their rightful funds.
A Season of Giving or Taking?
This holiday season, while families across Uganda looked forward to celebrating together, the accused officers were allegedly busy stuffing their pockets with what is supposed to be salvation of the struggling. Ghost beneficiaries, forged signatures, and blatant theft are just the tip of the iceberg. What drives someone to loot funds meant to provide a lifeline to the poor? How can such greed take root, especially during a time meant for compassion deliver the subsistence peasants to the money economy? Is the President’s prayer falling on the edges of Lucifer’s agents?
The CAO’s statement is unwavering. It describes how Mwisi worked only six days in five months while engineering schemes that included forging lists of beneficiaries and collecting money without delivering any of the promised support. Faruk, together with his accomplices, allegedly created fake groups, like the ghost “Busiki Restaurant Owners Association,” to siphon off funds in broad daylight. Teachers at his school, Townside Nursery and Primary, reportedly received as little as UGX 20,000—a cruel mockery of what they were due.
A Network of Deceit
The rot doesn’t stop with Mwisi. Joseph Mukombe, aanother commercial officer in Mutumba wielding influence over PDM funds, stands accused of masterminding one of the most audacious fraud schemes in the ddistrict’s history. Mukombe is alleged to have created over 300 ghost beneficiaries in the first PDM phase and manipulated over 100 beneficiary SIM cards in the second phase, withdrawing money while leaving legitimate recipients with nothing. As police files stack up, Mukombe has reportedly been on the run, frequently appearing in Resident State Attorney’s office of Iganga to find ways of fading his case. In the meantime, he allegedly enjoys the backing of two powerful MPs from his district.
A Trail of Ghosts
The accusations extend to parish chiefs like Allan Damba, who forged signatures and lengthened beneficiary lists, and Umar Kagere, accused of extorting UGX 1.5 million from hopeful individuals desperate to benefit from the PDM. Both officers have reportedly gone into hiding, fearing exposure by their accomplices. How deep does this conspiracy go? Who else is feasting on funds meant to lift millions out of poverty?
A Betrayal of the Nation
President Museveni, who has repeatedly emphasized a zero-tolerance policy on corruption, particularly concerning the PDM, must be enraged. The Parish Development Model was designed as a cornerstone of his administration’s poverty-alleviation agenda—a direct pipeline of funds to the underserved grassroots with purpose to deliver them into the money economy. For those tasked with implementing it to turn it into a feeding frenzy for personal gain is not just theft; it’s treasonous.
“This is not just money being stolen. This is the future of entire communities,” said a whistleblower from Namutumba district head offices, who detailed the bold impunity with which the accused operated. “What goes through the minds of people who loot from the poor? “one community member angrily asked. As a call for more PDM audit increases, evidence of forged signatures, non-existent beneficiaries, and diverted funds is coming to light from different districts. This and calls for accountability grow louder.
The CAO has acted boldly, but residents are demanding more. They want police, prosecutors, and even President Museveni himself to step in. This is not just a local scandal; it is a national disgrace that undermines trust in government programs. The embezzlement of PDM funds is a betrayal of every Ugandan taxpayer, every struggling family, and every teacher or farmer who hoped for relief.
The recent scandal is not the first time Parish Development Model (PDM) funds have been misappropriated in Namutumba District. Earlier this year, three leaders formed a fake PDM SACCO whose Chairperson Emmanuel Ngobi, Vice-Chairperson Isma Kabenene, and Secretary Wilberforce Kasisa, were remanded to Iganga Central Prison for extorting money from beneficiaries under false pretences. By August 2024, this incident had brought the total number of SACCO officials in the district charged over PDM-related fraud to ten, as of now the current rot uncovers a disturbing pattern of exploitation and betrayal of the intended purpose of these funds.
Will the new year of 2025, mark a turning point in the fight against corruption, or will the thieves remain free to enjoy their ill-gotten gains? The people of Namutumba and Uganda demand justice.
