It is alleged that although each applicant was required to pay 26,000 Shillings for the bursary forms, Katabalwa charged them 50,000, and never accounted for the extra charges.
The former head of the Kyaggwe County Education DepartmentSteven Katabalwa has been accused of departing with vital office properties.
Katabalwa was dismissed last month following allegations of abuse of office which involved collecting bribes from parents whose children sought bursaries at the county. It is alleged that although each applicant was required to pay 26,000 Shillings for the bursary forms, Katabalwa charged them 50,000, and never accounted for the extra charges.
Recent data accessed by URN indicated that Kyaggwe county offered half and full bursaries to
over 3,000 pupils and students in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions under its bursary scheme. The figure implies that Katabalwa could have duped more than 700 million Shillings from applicants under the scheme.
Following the accusations, Katabalwa was dismissed and replaced with Eva Sserunkuuma. However, he is said to have left with the office computer, a printer, furniture, a stamp and a water heater.
According to the Kyaggwe County Head locally known as Ssekiboobo, Elijah Bogeere Lubanga Mulembya, the county had all its education data and other development files stored on the same computer. He gears that the dismissed official may misuse the stamp to dupe the King’s subjects since he has already proven that he cannot be trusted.
Mulembya says that they no longer have access to data about all the learning who has benefited from the Bursary as well as those who had applied. He adds that he has instructed his deputy David Kato Matovu to open up a criminal case against Katabalwa and caution kingdom subjects against collaborating with their former officials.
//Cue in; “Ekitongole ky’ ebyenjiriza...
Cue out...ebintu bya Ssaza.”//
But Katabalwa says the properties were secured during his time in office and he reserves the powers to decide how to use them. He also insists that he has been the brain behind lobbying support from schools to students and fears that his successors might mismanage the entire process.
Mukono Division Police Commander, Annabella Nyinamahoro says they received the complaint about the matter and investigations are underway. Matovu, the Deputy Head of Kyaggwe County says officials under the education department have made it a habit to exit the office with the institution files.
//Cue in; “Ekitongole ekyo kikulu..
Cue out...akayagaba ne bursary.”//
Joseph Kabogoza, the Kyaggwe County Projects Administrator says currently the misconduct of their former education department official has contributed to a serious economic setback. He appeals to all institution heads to avoid dismissing workers before securing custody of office properties.
