At least eight senior officials at Uganda’s parliament have been arrested by the Inspectorate of Government (IG) over allegedly embezzling a combined total of over Shs 32 billion.
Those arrested include the flamboyant director of communications Chris Obore, director of human resources, Daniel Adilo, executive secretary in the Office of the Speaker, Leonard Okema, principal research officer, Rajab Kaaya Ssemalulu, principal protocol officer Emmanuel Okwi Emuron, capacity development officer, Vincent Otebata, and Uganda Parliamentary Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (Sacco) chief executive officer, Methods Murebe.
The IG says the officials were arrested as part of ongoing investigations into alleged corruption. Details of the charges are expected to be presented when they appear before the Anti-Corruption court.
The arrests come amid sustained investigations into the management of parliament, which over the past two years has faced unprecedented scrutiny over its financial and administrative operations.
The investigations intensified following allegations of abuse of office, irregular expenditure and misuse of public funds under the leadership of former speaker Anita Among. The controversy generated widespread public criticism and prompted investigations by several state agencies, including the Inspectorate of Government.
Amid the mounting scrutiny, Among has maintained a noticeably lower public profile in recent months, without any public appearances as investigations continued.
While no court has found her guilty of any criminal offence, the investigations have placed parliament under intense public and political pressure. Several senior parliamentary officials have since been questioned by investigators over procurement, recruitment, staff welfare schemes, and the management of funds, including those linked to the Uganda Parliamentary Sacco.
The latest arrests suggest investigators are widening the net beyond political leaders to include senior technical and administrative staff who played key roles in Parliament’s operations. The arrests also coincide with renewed efforts by anti-corruption agencies to pursue high-profile public officials accused of mismanaging taxpayers’ money.
The Anti-Corruption court has in recent years handled a growing number of cases involving accounting officers, local government officials, ministers and heads of public institutions as the government seeks to demonstrate a tougher stance against corruption.
