Masaka school closed, director arrested over embezzlement of students' UNEB exam fees

Leonard Ahimbisibwe, the director of Equator High School in Masaka, has been arrested for allegedly embezzling funds intended for the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) registration of S.4 and S.6 candidates who sat in 2023.

The arrest follows reports of parents pleading for assistance after their children's examinations were mysteriously withheld, leaving them in academic distress.

The issue came to light late last week when concerned parents of students at Equator high school gathered at the school, demanding answers about their children's missing exam results.

Despite their efforts, they were met with evasive responses from the school authorities.

A televised report by Masengejje exposed the parents' plight, bringing the situation to the attention of local authorities.

Hussein Hudu, the Resident City Commissioner (RCC) for Masaka city, personally intervened in the matter.

Upon arriving at the school, Hussein found the premises deserted, with no teachers present to address the parents' concerns.

According to witnesses, some school staff attempted to avoid confrontation by locking themselves inside a building on the school grounds.

Following his inspection, RCC Hussein ordered the immediate closure of Equator High School, citing its illegal operation and the dire conditions observed.

He also confirmed that this was not the first time Ahimbisibwe had been accused of misappropriating UNEB examination fees.

Reports from 2022 indicated that the school’s candidates in that year were still waiting for their results due to similar malpractices.

“We have decided to close this school after discovering that it has been operating illegally with no licence. Besides that, the director’s manners cannot enable us to leave the school operating because the school is mistreating the parents and learners due to their failure of getting their UNEB results yet they paid everything that was needed," Hudu said.

Parents are flocking my office crying they do not know what to do and the director did not say the truth.”

It is alleged that candidates of last year 2023 did not write the original UNEB exams.

“It is most likely that Ahimbisibwe got forged papers and gave them to students because his school is not among the schools that practiced malpractice in the UNEB last year.”

Ahimbisibwe was subsequently arrested and is currently being held at Nyendo-Mukungwe police station.

The situation nearly escalated as angry parents attempted to confront him at the police station, demanding answers and retribution for their children's lost academic opportunities.

The students of Equator High School are now left in a precarious situation, uncertain of their academic futures.

Davis Ssempijja, a senior six student, expressed his distress over the ordeal, admitting that the uncertainty has taken a toll on his mental health and cast doubt on his ability to pursue higher education.

“Results came back four months back but every time he says you wait and am looking for money to get your results. At times he gives us one week and when  it elapses, he says give me two more weeks . We do not know what to do. Remember that universities have already finished registering this intake,"Ssempijja said.

In response to the crisis, RCC Hussein has arranged for the affected students to be transferred to government’s Kadduggala Senior Secondary School, where they will resume their studies next academic term.

However, the unresolved issue of the missing UNEB fees ranging from shs3 to shs6 million  continues to cast a shadow over the former students' ability to get their UCE and UACE results.

Fourteen candidates sat for UCE and eleven sat for UACE last year at Equator high school but none of them has ever received their results.