A group of 35 former employees of the Internal Security Organisation(ISO) under the Office of the President have sought redress in terms of payment worth shs5.8billion in terminal benefits that government owes them.
In a December,18,2020 letter to the Permanent Secretary for the President’s Office, the group under their umbrella body Maendeleo Kwa Wote Association say they were recruited on ideological basis into ISO from various districts and at different times since 1987 befoe getting training in different intelligence disciplines.
The group says they were later deployed in various locations around the county to serve.
“In 2004, we were summarily retired before the mandatory age and disbanded without pay. We have since 2004 lived under difficult conditions and we cannot afford to provide school requirement and accommodation for our children,” the group says in the letter.
The former spies say that since 2005, they have canvassed votes for President Museveni using their own networks and contacts of retired ISO employees built around regions, sub-regions, districts, sub-counties, parishes and village levels.
“We in two groups of ISO officers numbering 13 and 22 respectively were retied without any pay of gratuity, exgratia, leave allowances, transport in lieu of notice to our homes with our families and other entitlements.’
The group says that after their plea with ISO for payment of their terminal benefits fell on deaf ears, they dragged government to the Industrial Court that after 12 years of hearing the case directed that they be paid their benefits.
The former spies however say they have failed to secure the money.
“Currently, the amount on demand for the 13 claimants stands at shs1.9 billion and for the 22 claimants at shs3.8 billion, all totaling to shs5.8 billion. This amount attracts an interest of 21% for every year it remains unpaid until full.”
In the letter to the President’s Office, the former spies say many of their colleagues have since passed on leaving behind children, widows and widowers who can’t afford to fend for their families.
“We the retired officers joined ISO when we were still young and fresh from school and we served exemplarily for at least 20 years and all of a sudden, we were amazingly disbanded without any pay and at a time the country needed us most.”
https://nilepost.co.ug/2018/12/19/government-to-pay-ex-spies-shs-14-billion-in-terminal-benefits/
