Authorities in Kyotera District have arrested two individuals accused of fraudulently working as government primary school teachers for over a decade despite lacking the required academic qualifications.
The suspects, identified as Charles Sseruwu and John Kavuma, allegedly sneaked onto the government payroll through fraudulent means and continued receiving salaries while serving at Kakunyu Primary School in Kabira Sub-county.
Lawrence Ssekyondwa, the Kyotera District Education Officer, says the arrests followed investigations triggered by a whistleblower who raised concerns about the duo’s credentials. According to Ssekyondwa, investigations established that Charles Sseruwu had been impersonating Joseph Kabazzi, a qualified teacher who had been discharged from the profession due to mental health challenges.
Sseruwu allegedly continued earning a government salary using Kabazzi’s identity, who is his relative. He observes that investigations revealed that John Kavuma was irregularly recruited into the teaching service and placed on the government payroll despite lacking the academic qualifications required for the profession.
Ssekyondwa indicates that in addition to suspicious academic documents, appointment letters, and posting instructions, they also obtained statements from relatives of the suspects, which helped establish the alleged fraud. The two suspects have since been handed over to police to face prosecution, and possible recovery of salaries they allegedly received illegally for 15 years.
Robert Kyambadde, the Kyotera District Chief Finance Officer, confirmed that payroll records show that Sseruwu had been receiving salary under the name of Joseph Kabazzi, while Kavuma is suspected to have secured employment using forged credentials.
“We also need to establish why the headteachers failed to thoroughly verify the identities and qualifications of these individuals. We believe the suspects can help expose the wider network behind this scheme,” Kyambadde said.
Mathias Mulindwa, the Kyotera Deputy Resident District Commissioner, has described the incident as a wake-up call for the district administration, saying authorities will intensify the verification of civil servants, suspecting that more impersonators could still be on the government payroll.
The alleged fraud predates the creation of Kyotera district, with the suspects believed to have joined the payroll before the district was carved out of Rakai in 2017. The case revives 2016 findings of the Human Resource Audit by the Inspector General of Government which uncovered 200 ghost workers and unqualified civil servants in the former Rakai District, who were costing the government millions. Kyotera may have inherited part of the unearthed irregularities when it became operational-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
