Top District Officials Arrested for Selling Government Jobs

Several top district officials have been arrested for selling government jobs. The arrests were made by officers from Uganda Police Force (UPF) and State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU).

Detectives from State House and police arrested the officials in the Western Uganda district of Mitooma. The suspects were also accused of “extorting money from job applicants during recent and ongoing Local Government recruitment exercises.”

The suspects were arrested on Thursday, March 12, 2026. State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU) listed some of the officials arrested as Chief Administrative Officer Joanita Nakityo, and District Health Officer Sadic Mugisha.

Others are Mitooma District Service Commission Chairperson Sam Tugume Karakuza and Senior Education Officer Richard Nabimanya.

“Investigations reveal that Mrs. Nakityo Joanita, the Chief Administrative Officer, has repeatedly interfered with the functions of the Service Commission by taking over responsibilities such as scheduling interviews and selecting technical advisors for the commission,” said State House Anti-Corruption Unit.

“Additionally, she directly influenced the scoring of candidates by the Chairperson of the District Service Commission, Mr. Tugume Sam Karakuza.”

The Anti-Corruption Unit further alleged that Tugume extorted between Shs7m and Shs25m from at least 23 candidates, whom he promised to offer jobs an ongoing recruitment exercise.

The unit also alleged that Sadic Mugisha, the District Health Officer, “was found to have engaged in influence peddling to ensure specific candidates were included and scored highly, with two candidates receiving a score of 48 out of 50.”

Mugisha is also accused of having “leaked interview questions and answers to certain applicants to aid their preparations and gain an unfair advantage over others.”

State House Anti-Corruption Unit also alleged that Richard Nabimanya, the Senior Education Officer, “participated in influence peddling by contacting the Chairperson of the District Service Commission to secure favorable assessments for some education officers during interviews.”

Police and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit says that several suspects are still on the run. They include Esther Owarimpa, a Parish Chief and LC3 Councillor of Kashenshero Sub-county, who “allegedly extorted money from applicants promising them jobs.”

Allegations of sale of jobs in Uganda have been widespread. There have been claims that the Education Service Commission was selling teaching jobs for as low as Shs2m, while RDC jobs were said to be sold for up to Shs20m. (See Details Here and There).

There have also been cases of forgery, with a senior Museveni minister recently confessing that she forged academic papers for another current minister to be appointed to a government job, as reported Here.