The arrest followed whistleblower reports from Sacco members who informed Bangu that they had been receiving messages indicating routine withdrawals from Sacco's bank account without their approval. One of the complainants, who preferred to remain anonymous, said members initially suspected that fraudsters had hacked into their accounts.
Kaliro Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Fredrick Bangu, on Tuesday night, sanctioned the arrest of Joel Kungu, the Secretary of Bulamogi Constituency Produce Dealers Emyoga Sacco, over allegations of forging signatures to illegally withdraw money without the consent of subscribing members.
The arrest followed whistleblower reports from Sacco members who informed Bangu that they had been receiving messages indicating routine withdrawals from Sacco's bank account without their approval. One of the complainants, who preferred to remain anonymous, said members initially suspected that fraudsters had hacked into their accounts.
However, as the unauthorized withdrawals persisted, they decided to alert Bangu. He added that the withdrawals had escalated from UGX 500,000 per week to UGX 1.5 million within the same period. Bangu revealed that by the time of Kungu's arrest, he had already withdrawn UGX 10 million, which he allegedly used to recapitalize his business at the expense of other Sacco members.
As the Sacco's secretary and custodian of all documentation, Kungu had full access to members' data and signatures, allowing him to manipulate the system to withdraw funds from the bank undetected. The fraud was uncovered when some members requested the bank to investigate the unauthorized withdrawals, which had not been approved by the loans committee, the commercial officer, or the RDC's office.
After a series of discreet inquiries, it was discovered that Kungu had been working with non-members, presenting them at the bank to withdraw cash, which was later remitted to him. Upon realizing that suspicions were rising against him, Kungu fled into hiding. However, a trap was laid, and he was arrested when he returned to check on his business. He is currently detained at Kaliro Central Police Station, awaiting prosecution on charges of suspected fraud and forgery.
Bangu has challenged Sacco leaders to uphold accountability as a core value to achieve collective economic transformation, warning that fraudulent tendencies threaten the existence of such entities. He also disclosed that investigations into fraud in other Emyoga Saccos are underway, with further arrests expected.
