By KT Reporter
Police in Aswa West Region have arrested two staff members of Bardege-Layibi Division in Gulu City over the alleged theft of 52 million shillings belonging to the division.
The suspects, identified as Otema Bosco, the division accountant, and Okuna Irene, the town clerk, were taken into custody after issuing conflicting accounts regarding how the funds disappeared.
According to police, the incident occurred on November 11, 2025, shortly after Otema, 55, withdrew 52 million shillings from Stanbic Bank Gulu Branch for various division activities, including fuelling and paying allowances to staff.
Upon returning to the division office in his car, he reportedly left the cash packed in two envelopes inside the vehicle, but upon return, the money had vanished. The money had been withdrawn from the Division account number 9030019070548 on the authorisation of the division town clerk.
Otema told police detectives that the division was crowded that day due to ongoing activities by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), prompting him to hide the money in the car.
The Deputy Resident City Commissioner for Bardege-Layibi, Kamba Amiri, confirmed the arrests and said the duo is being held as investigations determine the exact circumstances under which the funds went missing.
Amiri said investigators want to establish whether proper financial procedures were followed before the withdrawal of the money.
Amiri noted that the town clerk’s arrest followed inconsistencies in the statements she recorded with police earlier at ForGod Police Station.
“She wrote a contradictory statement. The treasurer says it was government money he picked, but she claims it was her personal money,” Amiri told Uganda Radio Network on Friday.
He said the Town Clerk also had a case of negligence, adding that when the money went missing, she reported it but declined to make a proper statement, and later disappeared until her arrest on Thursday.
Bardege-Layibi Division Mayor Patrick Oola Lumumba told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that while the police continue their investigation, the division leadership expects Otema to compensate the division for the loss.
“We have agreed as a council, I mean, as leaders, that he should pay us the money. He should be able to sell any of his assets and pay the money,” said Lumumba. He noted that the suspect has agreed to sell some of his property within the city centre to compensate for the loss of the division fund since the financial cost is huge.
By press time, police had released Okuna on police bond and were still detaining Otema at Gulu Central Police Station pending further investigation.
Police have since submitted a court order to the Chief Magistrates Court in Gulu for an account inspection of the suspects and opened up a case of theft of cash under file number CPS CRB 665 /2025.
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