EC District Registrar Pinned Over Fraud

By Patrick Ocaido

Katakwi district enrollment officers have petitioned the ministry of Internal Affairs over alleged fraud by the district registrar electoral commission

Led by their chief petitioner Joseph Okoria, the enrollment officers have demanded the National Coordinator, National Security Information System (NSIS) project, Hon. Aronda Nyakairima to investigate district registrar, Peter Toddu for illegally soliciting funds from enrollment officers in exchange for jobs.

According to a petition dated September 22, 2014, Toddu has since the beginning of this exercise in April discretely solicited money from various people working under him.

“Very many enrolment officers, parish supervisors and sub county supervisors and others have lost lots of money to him under the intimidation that they either give him the money lest they lose their jobs,” the petition reads in parts.

“Under these, a number of enrolment officers are victims and are fully ready to provide evidence and testify against the registrar.”

The district enrollment officers have also faulted Toddu for direct misuse of office by swindling money that was meant for facilitation of officers and transportation of the kits.

At the beginning of this exercise, the ministry allocated money for the transportation of the kits up to a tune of Shs300,000 per kit for a period of four months.

However, Toddu allegedly swindled all the money with enrollment officers getting little or nothing of this money forcing them to dig deep into their pockets to fund their movements to work.

Enrollment officers in Katakwi district have petitioned the Internal Affairs minister Aronda Nyakairima (L)

“The registrar then fraudulently used some parish and sub county supervisors to move around with vouchers to be filled in the names of accounting for transport refund yet in reality the money was either never remitted to the right persons or given less(as low as 25,000=) a month. Those who refused were intimidated that they either sign the vouchers or lose the jobs.” The petition further reads.

Toddu has also been accused of having ghost enrollment officers after he unlawfully dismissed them without replacement.

It has been reported that district registrar illegally replaced some of the sacked enrolment officers with ghost names as a cover up for his illegal actions especially in Abela parish, Katakwi Sub-county.

The embattled enrollment officers have tasked the ministry of internal affairs, police, Teso Anti- Corruption Coalition (TACC), IGG and the office of the RDC to carry out thorough investigation and present a comprehensive report of how the ID project money has and is being used in Katakwi district.

A list of enrollment officers who have signed the petition

At the same time, they have asked Toddu to step down and be apprehended.

Some of the enrollment officers who were unlawfully dismissed and never replaced include Malinga Joseph Godfrey, Rebbeca Amuge, Richard Iwait, Patrick Akabwai, Juliet Amuge, Joyce Ikworo, Mary Gorreti Aguti, Emmanuel Ongima, Alex Otukei, Edith Ariko, Ann Rose Olinga, Joseph Malinga and Emmanuel Okiror.