Bududa Grade I magistrate last week sent to remand, a teacher having charged him on three grounds; Impersonation, Forgery and causing financial loss to the government.
Wabalya Prosper, 30, a teacher of English and Literature, is said to have sneaked onto the government payroll, registering himself as a scientist, resulting in him taking a salary four times more than his other colleagues.
It is alleged that Wambalya presented a forged appointment letter alongside a forged posting letter from the Ministry of Education to secure himself a place at Bulucheke Secondary School as an English and literature teacher in 2020.
It is also alleged that Wambalya earned the scale of a science teacher four times the salary of an art teacher.
He was arrested alongside the former Bududa District Human Resource Officer Michael Mastyetsye who is still in police custody pending arraignment in the court of law.
Being the custodian of the payroll, Mastyetsye was arrested for his possible involvement in enabling Wambalya to access the payroll.
“Because the system shows that he entered the system in November 2022,” the Bududa Resident District Commissioner George Awanyi said adding that “we are digging to the bottom of this to burst the whole racket”
Bulucheke SS Headteacher Edward Mukhwana says “For us, we knew Wambalya Prosper as a teacher who is not on the government payroll and he has been earning PTA, adding that he discovered that the said teacher was on payroll upon getting notification for appointment”
The RDC hopes that Wambalya will serve as a lesson to other local government staff across the country adding that the issue of payroll abuse is so rampant in local governments Bududa inclusive.
“We want to send a strong signal to all staff in local governments that the issue of payroll abuse is grave and His Excellency the President has put us on task to investigate and establish them” adding that they risk being burnt from holding any government office for the next ten years.
He urged other government staff with similar scandals to report to his office to avoid embarrassment. “but the good news is that if we come early we have a mechanism to remove your name and made to compensate the taxpayer the money you have accessed illegally”
The RDC further noted that abusing the payroll encroaches on the district wage and denies eligible staff and pensioners “for instance, in this case, he is earning 4 times what is due to an art teacher, that money could have covered other teachers who are not earning salary”
