Town Agent and two SACCO leaders in Nebbi Municipality have been arrested over alleged mismanagement of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds.
They were arrested Tuesday evening on orders of Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Nebbi, Mr Robert Abak.
Mr Abak said they were following numerous complaints from beneficiaries and would-be beneficiaries over alleged extortion and creation of ghost beneficiaries.
Abak said arrest is to pave way for investigations. “I have directed police to arrest and investigate the matter because PDM money is not free money. It is a revolving fund for the poor. And anyone who mismanages it must account for their actions,” Abak said.
Across country, several leaders charged with managing PDM funds have been arrested over alleged mismanagement.
Chairperson of Nduru cell in Hill ward, Abindu Division, Mr Hassan Otwikende, said they have been battling corruption where SACCO leaders pick relatives who never went through normal vetting by SACCO members.
He adds some SACCO leaders use powers to intimidate elderly beneficiaries to get mobile PINs to access money, threatening to remove them from lists.
“It happened that the man tricked her with her mobile money pin number and later withdrew Shs 1million from her account which later led to his arrest following a tip off information by the SACCO members. So, we are still fighting off the corruption cases,” Otwikende said, citing case last week where SACCO leader of Wan-Acel SACCO was arrested for extorting PDM money from old woman.
Nebbi Hill ward councillor Mr Godwin Achora condemned acts.
“A leader extorting money from a vulnerable Sacco member is killing the progress of the members to achieve the intended goals of achieving the economic progress and livelihood change for economic growth,” Achora said.
According to 2026 statistics, Nebbi municipality has so far disbursed Shs 365 million to 365 beneficiaries in Nebbi hill ward, but enterprise groups face challenges of poor record keeping, extortion and awarding money to non-members.