The Bushenyi District Principal Human Resource Officer, Pollen Nakayunga, has been arrested over allegations of negligence of duty and abuse of office following accusations of delaying pension payments and soliciting bribes from retired civil servants.
Nakayunga was arrested on Friday on the orders of the Bushenyi Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Emmy Ngabirano, after pensioners raised complaints during a meeting attended by retired civil servants, the Chief Administrative Officer, district leaders, the District Pension Committee, and members of the Bushenyi District Pensioners Association at the Bushenyi Multipurpose Hall.
Ngabirano said his office launched investigations after receiving numerous complaints from pensioners alleging mistreatment by Nakayunga. He said the investigations established that key documents required to process pension payments had allegedly gone missing, disrupting the verification process and delaying payments.
He added that the government had already released funds for pension payments, emphasising that the delays were not due to a shortage of money but to failures in the handling and management of pension records.
Bushenyi District Chairperson Prosper Twebaze described the delayed pension payments as an injustice to retired public servants, saying many pensioners are struggling to meet basic household needs and medical expenses because of the prolonged delays.
Twebaze said the district owes pensioners more than two billion shillings in unpaid pension and gratuity.
The Chairperson of the Bushenyi District Pensioners Association, Aggrey Mushigire, said some retirees have waited for more than two and a half years without receiving either their monthly pension or gratuity.
Mushigire accused the office of the Principal Human Resource Officer of mismanaging pension records, claiming that while some beneficiaries had been paid, many others who had fulfilled all the required conditions remained excluded from the payroll.
Bushenyi District has more than 1,000 registered pensioners. Pensioners are demanding urgent action to clear the backlog and ensure that all eligible retirees receive their benefits without further delay-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
