3 Arua Teachers Arrested for Stealing Iron Sheets

Three teachers of Imvepi Self Help secondary school in Odupi Sub-County, Arua district are in custody at Arua Central police station for alleged theft of school iron sheets.

 

Police on Monday arrested Luiji Andama, the school head teacher, Alain Ejoyi, the deputy head teacher and Male Jackson, a classroom teacher over the theft of 78 iron sheets.

 

Josephine Angucia, the North-Western police spokesperson, says the theft occurred on February 7, 2012.

 

Angucia says the area LCI Chairperson James Awizia informed the police at Imvepi police post about the matter after one of the suspects reached him with the information, forcing police to go to the scene for investigations.

 

Angucia explained that on reaching the scene, police found that the keys to the school store in which the items were being kept was in possession of the deputy head teacher Alain Ejoyi.

 

It was also discovered that the padlock had no sign of breakage but the officers found it open and the iron sheets missing.

 

She said the three teachers who reside at the school quarters were later arrested following police preliminary investigations and they were forwarded to Arua central police station.

 

Angucia says the iron sheets were on Tuesday recovered hidden in a sorghum garden belonging to Ejoyi which made them to believe that the three had connived. She said the items were recovered by some women employed by Ejoyi’s wife to work in the field.

 

Angucia adds that earlier reports from the scene indicated that the trio had plans of distributing the iron sheets among themselves. According to Angucia the three teachers will be charged with theft.

 

But in all their statements at the police the suspects denied stealing the iron sheets. According to them the LCs and other residents who were opposed to their appointment to head the school had framed them. This claim could not be verified.

 

Imvepi Self Help Secondary school is situated within Imvepi refugee settlement camp and it was started in 1999. The enrollment of the school, however, dropped in 2009 when most of the refugees were repatriated.