Minister Kasolo orders arrest of Kikuube Emyooga Sacco chairman over swindling Shs 15m

John Paul Mugabe, the Mechanic Emyooga Sacco chairperson from Buhaguzi constituency in Kikuube district has been arrested for allegedly swindling over Shs 15 million belonging to the Sacco.

He was arrested yesterday Tuesday on the directives of Haruna Kasolo, the state minister for Microfinance. It came after the Sacco members informed the minister that Mugabe together with other members including the secretary Joshua Muhumuza connived and withdrew Shs 21 million from the association’s account in 2021 and shared it amongst themselves. 

It is alleged that Mugabi took Shs 15 million while his two colleagues took the balance, which they have since failed to pay back. It is from this background that Kasolo ordered the immediate arrest and detention of Mugabe who was immediately whisked to Kikuube central police station where he spent the night. 

The minister also ordered the arrest of other members of the association who connived with Mugabe to swindle the money.  Kasolo issued a two-month ultimatum to the defaulters of Emyooga funds in Kikuube district to clear the money or face arrest.

Kikuube district is home to 826 Emyooga groups created out of 36 savings and credit cooperative societies. Eighteen of the Saccos are from Buhaguzi East Constituency while the rest are from Buhaguzi main constituency.

The groups collectively shared Shs 1.12 billion from the Emyooga funds. Of the Shs 1.12 billion that the government disbursed to 36 Emyooga Saccos in the district, only Shs 300 million has so far been recovered. The minister, who is traversing the Bunyoro region to monitor the performance of the Emyooga program, was shocked by the poor recovery of funds and savings in the district. 

According to Kasolo, government will use all the available avenues to ensure that the Emyooga beneficiaries repay the money. Emmanuel Twinomujuni, the Hoima Zonal manager of the Microfinance Support Centre says that Kikuube is the worst-performing district in Bunyoro region. 

Amlan Tumusiime, the Kikuube resident district commissioner (RDC) blamed some leaders for frustrating the program. He explained recently his office had started arresting the defaulters but some leaders opposed the idea claiming that arresting the people was going to affect them politically. 

Abdul Bisasi, the deputy national Coordinator of Emyooga called on the Sacco leaders to be transparent and fully account for the money given to them. Fatuma Businge, the Kikuube district senior commercial officer explained that several Sacco members, who took the money to boost their enterprises have failed to pay back the funds despite the expiry of the grace period yet Emyooga is a revolving fund.    

The presidential Initiative was rolled out in October 2020 to support among others, market vendors, welders, taxi drivers, carpenters, boda-boda riders, women, performing artists, and restaurant owners who come together in form of savings and credit cooperative societies. The aim was to boost strategies to transform 68 per cent of Ugandan homesteads from subsistence to market-oriented production. 

Under the initiative, the government set aside Shs 100 billion, with each constituency receiving Shs 560 million, to create job opportunities, increase access to specialized financial services in rural areas, particularly for women, youth, and persons with disabilities to improve the household income of the project beneficiaries and enhance the entrepreneurial capacity of different categories through sensitization, skilling and tooling.