Two former leaders of the Kween Ward Parish Development Model (PDM) SACCO in Kapchorwa Municipality are set to appear before the Kapchorwa Chief Magistrate’s Court today to answer charges of theft, misappropriation and extortion of funds meant for the government’s flagship poverty alleviation programme.
The accused are the former SACCO Chairperson, Difas Chemutai, and the former Secretary, Stephen Simba, who are currently detained at Kapchorwa Central Police Station after police concluded investigations into the alleged misuse of PDM funds. Sipi Regional Police Spokesperson Fredmark Chesang said the Resident State Attorney has sanctioned the prosecution case.
“The file has been sanctioned, and they will appear in court on August 4 to answer charges of theft, misappropriation and extortion,” Chesang said. According to police, the case stems from months of investigations prompted by complaints from SACCO members, who accused the former executive committee of demanding illegal payments from beneficiaries before releasing PDM funds.
Investigators allege that Chemutai and Simba demanded Shs100,000 from each beneficiary approved to receive the government’s Shs1 million revolving fund under the Parish Development Model. One of the complainants, Joshua Kurong, said applicants were also required to pay an additional Shs100,000 during registration, which the SACCO leadership allegedly presented as a mandatory fee for accessing the programme.
Uganda Radio Network has also established that Chemutai allegedly refused to hand over official SACCO property, including the office stamp and key administrative documents, after he was removed from office. The refusal reportedly prompted district PDM officials to seek police intervention to recover the items and facilitate an audit of the SACCO’s financial records.
Police say they have gathered sufficient evidence to support the charges against the two former officials, while investigations continue to determine whether other members of the SACCO leadership were involved. The Parish Development Model is the Government of Uganda’s flagship programme aimed at transitioning subsistence households into the money economy through revolving capital channelled directly to community SACCOs-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
