Masindi Municipal Speaker blocked over corruption allegations
They demanded that Deputy Speaker Betty Kugonza preside over the sitting if the budget was to be passed.
Masindi: Tensions ran high on Monday during a Masindi Municipal Council sitting as councilors blocked Speaker Tadeo Opio from chairing the session over allegations of corruption.
The meeting, convened to pass the 2025/2026 financial year budget, had already been delayed three times due to a scandal involving the alleged embezzlement of UGX 100 million earmarked for the procurement of a municipal vehicle.
Councilors accused Speaker Opio of receiving UGX 3 million from the town clerk, Daniel Kisala, and an additional UGX 1 million from a businessman identified as James Ventures.
They demanded that Deputy Speaker Betty Kugonza preside over the sitting if the budget was to be passed.
Opio initially resisted the demand and adjourned the session briefly. However, upon resumption, the councilors stood their ground, prompting Opio to step aside.
Kugonza subsequently chaired the sitting, during which the council passed a UGX 16 billion budget for the financial year 2025/26. The motion was moved by Youth Councilor Jackson Mbonereho.
In his defense, Opio dismissed the bribery allegations as baseless and defamatory, claiming that the funds received from Kisala were meant to cover legal costs in a court case involving the suspension of three councilorsn ot a bribe.
The budget’s approval followed mounting pressure from State Minister for Youth and Children Affairs, Dr. Balaam Barugahara.
During a meeting last week at the Albertine Grand Palace Hotel in Masindi, Barugahara urged the council to pass the budget within a week or risk the suspension of all municipal operations in the upcoming financial year starting July 1, 2025. He warned that delays would directly impact service delivery to residents.
Barugahara also advised the councilors to formally petition anti-corruption agencies regarding the alleged misconduct of Town Clerk Kisala, who is accused of misappropriating UGX 100 million intended for a double-cabin pickup truck.
The minister revealed he had previously received reports of rampant misuse of public funds in Masindi even before taking office.
In a strong show of frustration, Civic Centre Ward Councilor Richard Alinaitwe stated that councilors had lost confidence in the District Police Commander (DPC) and Resident District Commissioner (RDC), accusing them of failing to act on the matter.
Yusuf Nyamayarwo, the council’s Secretary for Works, claimed that police had sided with implicated officials, granting police bond to suspects who were seen freely moving in the community.
RDC Darius Nandinda confirmed the seriousness of the matter, noting that it had already reached the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and the Inspector General of Police.
Indeed, a team from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit was on the ground in Masindi at the time of reporting, interrogating municipal officials following a petition by the RDC’s office. The petition accuses police officers of colluding with suspects to obstruct justice.
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