Top Microfinance Support Centre Officials Remanded Over Shs 10bn Funds For teachers’ Sacco

The Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala has remanded three top officials from the Microfinance Support Centre together with a teacher to prison for embezzlement of shs. 10 billion meant for the teachers’ sacco.

The officials including the Executive Director Microfinance Support Centre, John Peter Mujuni, John Mwebembezi the head of Finance and Administration, Julia Birungi an Assistant Credits Officer and Joan Baryaruha Asiimwe, a teacher were on Tuesday afternoon arraigned before Grade One magistrate, Moses Nabende.

They are accused of embezzlement contrary to section 19( c ) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2009 and conspiracy to defraud when they allegedly stole shs10.8 billion meant for teachers.

“The accused between November 2019 and August 2020 while working at Microfinance Support Centre they stole shs10.8 billion the property of government of Uganda to wit teacher loan fund that had been given to them by H.E the President of the Republic of Uganda as a grant,” the state prosecutor said.

Speaking to journalists, CID Spokesperson Charles Twine said the Microfinance officials gave the money to Asiimwe who is an initiator of the Uganda Teachers Cooperative Saving Union, who turned it to personal use.

“We saw a lot of paradox in this but we will surely get to its bottom,” Twine said.

Twine said that preliminary investigations have found that Asiimwe was a signatory to the account that withdrew the money intended for teachers but the money did not reach intended beneficiaries.

Teachers across the country continue to languish in hopelessness ever since schools were closed in March this year with little hope that they will be reopened anytime soon.