FORT PORTAL – The president of Uganda Local Government Association – ULGA, Richard Rwabuhinga Abooki, has expressed concern about the manner, in which the different anti-corruption agencies mistreat district officials suspected of dishonesty.
Rwabuhinga, who doubles as the Kabarole district LCV chairperson, noted that the arrest of the implicated officials should be dignified since they were only suspects.
He wants the responsible state agencies to first conduct thorough investigations before effecting arrests.
He however, added that his concerns shouldn’t be misinterpreted to mean that the local government leadership was in support of corruption.
Rwabuhinga’s remarks come against the backdrop of the investigations against police detectives attached to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, who were filmed torturing the Butebo district Finance officer, Simon Mutekanga Kowa about two months ago during his arrest.
The visibly charged State House officials flogged Mutekanga several times – leaving his clothes in tatters before bundling him onto a waiting double-cabin pick-up truck. Mutekanga had been accused of allegedly mismanaging up to Ugx1b that was meant for various activities in the district.
However, State House officials defended their actions, saying that Mutekaga had misbehaved when he allegedly jumped off the vehicle and took off – the forceful re-arrest.
In its latest report issued in June 2021, the Uganda Human Rights Commission named the police and UPDF as the biggest violators of human rights in the country.
