Authorities have intensified their crackdown on corruption in Northern Uganda, arraigning three more suspects over the theft of compensation funds meant for victims of past insurgencies and cattle raids in Otuke District.
The Anti-Corruption Unit, working in coordination with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), presented the suspects before the Otuke Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
The accused have been identified as Akasa Jimmy Mokili, a politician and businessman from Agago District, Okengo Jaspher, the LCIII Chairperson of Ogor Sub-county in Otuke and Sgt. Amoni Benz (alias Okengo Bonny), a serving Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier
The trio face charges of theft and conspiracy to defraud under the cattle compensation programme, which was established to compensate individuals mainly elderly residents who lost livestock during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency and Karamoja cattle raids.
Investigations have uncovered that the suspects, working with other yet-to-be-apprehended individuals, allegedly exploited the registration and bank account opening process meant to facilitate compensation.
By fraudulently obtaining victims’ personal and banking information, they reportedly siphoned off large sums of money, often without the victims’ knowledge.
In some cases, only a small portion of the rightful payment was handed over to the claimants.
Authorities say over UGX 1.5 billion has been stolen in Otuke District alone, and similar fraud schemes are under investigation in other parts of the Lango, Acholi, and Teso sub-regions.
The court ordered that the three suspects be remanded until August 19, 2025, as investigations continue.
