We'll do whatever it takes to recover stolen Emyooga money, says Minister

Kasolo was in Buyende district to monitor the performance of Emyooga when informed of Kiwanuka’s case, which involved Kiwanuka reportedly misappropriating Emyooga money to buy himself a lorry.

The Buyende District Police Commander, Joram Byamushana, said Kiwanuka along with signatories to the SACCO account withdrew shs34 million shillings, but Kiwanuka made off with the money after convincing the other signatories to let him keep the money.

“They withdrew that money in the evening, and I think he already had the idea to steal it since he was the treasurer. He fooled his colleagues that it was late in the evening, and proposed to stay with the money at his home for the night. What happened is that the next morning, he deposited that money on his Centenary Bank Account. He then hid from his colleagues, and could hardly be found. They would find him after four days. They discovered that he had withdrawn the money from his Centenary Bank Account, and had bought a lorry,” said Byamushana.

Other SACCO leaders and members reported the matter to the police which subsequently then saw sufficient cause to arrest Kiwanuka.

However, Kiwanuka denies any wrongdoing, revealing that he did not pilfer the said SACCO funds to buy a new lorry.

Nonetheless, it was later discovered that Kiwanuka transferred the lorry’s details to his father’s name, as a convenient cover for his crime. Thereupon, he was arrested and the lorry impounded by police.

The court later released Kiwanuka on bail, and also ordered the release of the lorry.

“He is out on bail. As of today, the file is in the anti-corruption court in Kololo [Kampala]. So, this case is beyond Buyende as a district. It is now at the national level,” the DPC said.

Kasolo said he will look into the circumstances under which Kiwanuka was released.

“Police, I want you to get me a reference to that file. When I go back to Kampala, I will follow up on the matter. I will reach out to whoever is necessary in this matter. Even if it means talking to the head of the judiciary, the Chief Justice, we are going to do it. I want to assure you, we will do whatever it takes, follow up on this matter, and have the money recovered,” said Kasolo.

He said government money should never be tampered with in this fashion without there being punitive consequences.

The Presidential Initiative on Wealth and Job creation (Emyooga) was launched in August 2019 as part of the broad government strategy targeting to transform 68% of homesteads from subsistence to market-oriented production with the overall objective of promoting job creation and improving household incomes.

The initiative was designed to step up direct support to communities through establishment of specialized funds/Emyooga-specific Apex SACCOs at Constituency level covering 149 districts countrywide, but with operations at Parish level.