Lira district LC5 chairman arrested over alleged fraud

By Ronald Odongo
Lira

Police from Kampala over the weekend arrested Lira district LC5 chief Franco Ojur (right) over an allegation of mismanaging Northern Uganda Social Action Funds.

Franco Ojur was arrested and detained at Lira central police station where later he was released on police bond following profound interrogations by the team of police and detective officers from Kampala.

Heavily armed police have since Sunday night been deployed at the NUSAF offices.

Reports within the district indicates that a section of the accused civil servants have fled the area in fear of the arrest.

The police chief conducting the operations who talked on condition of anonymity told The Spotlight that their operation is based on the previous reports which pinned a section of the district officials in misappropriation of the NUSAF funding.

According to credible sources, the police are acting on instruction from the State House.

Most of the districts’ offices are locked while others are opened by the office attendants without responsible officers.

During the last council meeting Lira district deputy chief administrative officer Fredrick Rwabuhuru said that state house had taken over investigations into the alleged misappropriations of the NUSAF monies in the district.

Fredrick Rwabuhuru was responding to the councilors’ concerns as to why the district had not taken any legal move on the officers involved in the alleged theft of NUSAF monies.

Sources within the police revealed that Ojur was detained for over 12 hours where he was also subjected to record his statement.

Late last year Lira district NUSAF technical officer Dr.Joel Ongebo was dismissed on the order of the district chairperson  where later he was arrested sent to jailed for allegedly obtaining bribery and using his position to authorized payment of ghost projects in the district under NUSAF projects.

The report by the select committee investigating the performance of some of the government projects in the district like the NUSAF accused LC5 Chief Franco Ojur of using his position to acquire contracts and ordering the former NUSAF district officer to release funds to ghost projects.

Ojur is alleged to have used his companies to get contracts under NUSAF project in the district.

This is the second series of investigations and the arrest by police from Kampala on misappropriation of the NUSAF funding in Lira.