Police in Busoga East have opened investigations into allegations of forged bank slips used by students to show payment of tuition fees at Lubega School of Nursing and Health Professionals in Iganga. The investigation follows a complaint raised in Parliament by Bubulo East MP John Musila, who accused the school of sending away students whose tuition payments it did not recognise.
Musila alleged that more than 300 students, including his daughter, paid tuition through a Stanbic Bank agent operating at the school and were issued with bank slips confirming payment. He said the school later rejected the slips and treated the students as defaulters, despite their insistence that they had cleared their tuition fees.
Musila further said many of the affected students are finalists and that the dispute over their fees was disrupting their studies. However, the school management disputes the number of affected students and says its own investigations found that 90 students had been defrauded by individuals operating a fake Stanbic Bank agency.
In a statement, the school said some students were lured into paying tuition fees through the fake agent, who allegedly issued them with forged bank slips showing full payment. The school said police established that about 30 million shillings had been fraudulently obtained from the affected students.
The administration said it subsequently held a meeting with parents, students and police last weekend to resolve the matter. According to the school, Musila’s wife attended the meeting, where participants agreed to pursue criminal proceedings against the suspects.
The school management said it was therefore surprised when Musila later raised the matter in Parliament. Meanwhile, Busoga East Police spokesperson Michael Kasadha says investigators have arrested the main suspect, Joshua Mwesigwa, who is being held at Iganga Central Police Station.
Kasadha says police are also pursuing two other key suspects, whom he identifies as former students of the school. He says investigators have recorded statements from the complainants, who told police they had made partial tuition payments to Mwesigwa, who allegedly issued them with bank slips indicating that the full fees had been paid.
Police have also recovered the suspected forged bank slips and submitted them to the forensic department for examination. Kasadha says police are considering charges of fraud, forgery, uttering false documents and impersonation against the suspects. He has urged the affected students and parents to remain patient as investigations continue-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
