Serere police are holding a man accused of impersonating the former LC V chairperson, Joseph Opit Okojo. The suspect is 37-year-old Simon Odongo, a resident of Akumoi village in Pingire sub-county.
He reportedly obtained Shillings 200,000 by false pretense contrary to the law. Odongo allegedly impersonated the former LCV chairperson and obtained the money from Anna Autuga, 25, who was seeking a job as a nurse in the district.
Oscar Gregg Ageca, the East Kyoga Regional Police Spokesman says that after agreeing to pay the bribe, Autuga demanded to meet the suspect at the district headquarters to hand in the cash.
“She thereafter went to the former LCV chairperson to confirm the receipt of the money but no money was acknowledged. This prompted her on the 24th March 2022 at around 04:00 pm to open up a case with Serere CPS”, Ageca said in a statement.
He says that the police recorded statements from all the witnesses that later led to the arrest of the suspect who is currently in custody at Serere Central Police Station.
“We do applaud the bravery of the complainant from Serere for availing us credible information. This proactive approach helps a lot in preventing crime. However, the public should note that bribery of public officials is a crime punishable under the law and should therefore endeavour not to corrupt public officials”, he added.
Ageca notes that Autuga shall be a state witness for the crime of impersonation and obtaining money by false pretence as provided for under the penal code. Opit, in his response to the impersonation case, asked people to be vigilant.
“One person was arrested for extorting money from the unsuspecting job applicants using names of the commission, LCV and mine”, he said. He said that the suspect has been conning several people for a long time with similar tactics. “Let our people be informed of this conmen”, he adds.
Early this year, the Criminal Investigations Directorate- CID in Kampala conducted another investigation in Serere over the alleged recruitment flaws including accelerated promotions, among other irregularities.
Although the report of the investigation is yet to come out publicly, some of the district officials and commissioners were indicted for their alleged involvement in soliciting money from the applicants in exchange for jobs in 2019 and 2021.
The Chief Administrative Officer of Serere, Gabriel Atama has insisted that the recruitment processes in the district have been credible.