Kitagwenda Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Moses RK Dalili, confirmed the development, stating that the interdiction was intended to pave way for investigations into the claims against the official.
“Mr. Mutalya has been interdicted to allow investigations into allegations of habitual extortion of money from job seekers, abuse of office, incompetence, and irregular attendance to duty,” Dalili told Nile Post in an interview on Thursday
He emphasized that public servants must uphold high standards of integrity, noting that officers entrusted with public responsibilities must conduct themselves ethically.
“Public officers are entrusted with the responsibility to serve the people. They must therefore demonstrate ethical behavior, professionalism, and integrity in the execution of their duties,” Dalili added.
Reliable sources within the district also revealed that the new leadership of the District Service Commission had earlier raised concerns about Mutalya’s conduct and requested the CAO to assign him other duties.
In response, Dalili reportedly reassigned Mutalya to the Human Resource Department, but the official allegedly declined to comply with the directive.
“The new commission leadership expressed concerns and requested that he be redeployed. However, despite being assigned duties under the Human Resource Department, he did not adhere to the directive,” a district official familiar with the matter said.
This is not the first time Mutalya has been implicated in bribery and corruption-related allegations.
In February 2022, he was arrested by security agencies after a job applicant and primary school teacher, Milton Ayebazibwe, lodged a complaint with police accusing him of demanding a bribe in exchange for fast-tracking his recruitment.
According to Ayebazibwe, Mutalya allegedly asked for Shs2 million to facilitate the job process and first requested an installment of Shs1.1 million, which the teacher paid. However, when the interviews approached, Mutalya allegedly demanded an additional Shs2.5 million, bringing the total amount requested to Shs3.6 million.
Following the complaint, Mutalya was interdicted for six months to allow investigations after a directive from the Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Rose Lilly Akello, who instructed the then Chief Administrative Officer Richard Ssebandeke to take action.
However, after the six-month interdiction period and prolonged investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Mutalya later resumed his duties.
District authorities say the current interdiction will remain in force until ongoing investigations into the latest allegations are concluded.