By Micheal Atwakiire
Sheema: At the end of last week, Sheema district councillors suspended the District Service Commission led by Sam Kahindi, over allegations of corruption and bribery exhibited during the recruitment of workers for the district.
Following public outcry against Sheema District Service Commission’s corruption, Hon Junior Kasikizi Niweainebyoona, the councillor Kigarama sub-county, moved a motion which he termed as “Motion to support Presidential Initiative Against Corruption in Service Delivery,” which was based on to fire the District Service Commission.
Kasikizi added that Sheema District Service Commission has exhibited the highest level of corruption, incompetence and abuse of office through a number of actions. The following are some of the reasons why councillors decided to suspend the Commission until further notice;
1. Recruitment of relatives without declaring conflict of intrest which is against the leadership code of conduct ,example Kuthum Kisolo recruited as community development officer who is a relative to mr Nkonge Ally, Daniel Tashobya recruited as senior assistant secretary who is related to Sam Kahindi
2. Recruitment in service of external applicants without external advertisements as required , example Kuthum Kisolo recruited as Sheema municipal council Community development officer and others
3. Dismissal and victimization of public officers without fair hearing or following the rightful process which is contrary to section 59 of local government act example Mr Bagumire Tomson education assistant 2.
4. Setting up additional requirements for some positions in public service without approval of ministry of public service and these additional requirements were applied in selection yet they were not specified in the advert
5. Misconduct through soliciting bribes from the applicants in exchange or promise for job.
Due to the above reasons, Council unanimously suspended the Service Commission until further notice.
The district finance committee led Hon Jackson Musinguzi was put in place to investigate the matter.
The Service Commission members were ordered to vacate their offices until the investigations about them are over. The councillors also ordered Sheema district chairman LCV David Kabigumira never to join the investigative committee, because he allegedly supports the Service Commission members.
Kabigumira said that the suspension of the Service Commission was seconddd by the former vice chairman Elidard Mwesigye.
“For all the years , our Council has been peaceful and working but this confusion is being driven by Mwesigye, because immediately after revoking him as my vice chairman, he vowed to distablise the district Council. He has now started; he brought here his son and he didn’t get a job he wanted which annoyed him. I’m sure Junior can’t write that English he was reading in the motion.
Mwesigye wrote it and gave it to Junior to just read. The problem with these councillors is they don’t have the required academic documents to make them qualify for the advertised jobs,” Kabigumira said.
Although Chairman Kabigumira said his Council has been peaceful and that his former vice chairman is the one causing confusion, it should be noted that ever since 2016 when he became Sheema district Chairman , he [Kabigumira] had been in endless quarrels with his councilors.
He first revoked Council committee secretaries who he said weren’t on his side. For example Robert Nkwemeriire, who was revoked from secretary for finance , he then started endless quarrels with the then Speaker
