Kole CDO Remanded Over UWEP Cash
A grade one magistrate court in Kole district has remanded a Community Development Officer (CDO) on allegations of obtaining money by false pretence contrary to section 305 of the Penal Code Act.
Lucy Aciro Ejura, a CDO attached to Aboke Town Council allegedly obtained over 13 million shillings from different women groups under the Uganda Women Entrepreneur Program (UWEP) under the pretense that she would deposit the money in their bank accounts but she never did.
She appeared in court on Friday where she was charged with four different counts of the same crime allegedly committed between May 2020 to August 2023. Her worship Angella Sserwadda, the Grade One Magistrate remanded Aciro to Kole Government prison until April 24th, 2024 when she will come back to court.
On the first count, Aciro allegedly between January to May 2022 obtained 10,020,000 shillings from Oryem Can women’s group claiming she was the only authorized personnel to bank the money on behalf of the group in the group’s account in Bank of Africa.
The second count states that in November 2022 in Aboke Town Council, Aciro with intent to defraud obtained UGX 480,000 from Obanga Akica Women’s groups.
She is also accused of falsely obtaining 7,016,000 from Okole Women’s group between the month of May 2020 and January 2023, pretending that being a COVID-19 period, she would safely keep the money and give it back to the group at a later time, something which she never did.
Court further alleged that Aciro in the month of August 2023 at Aboke Town council received over UGX 608,000 from Aparango women’s group by falsely claiming that she was the only one authorized to banks it and that she would bank it in the groups account in Bank of Africa whereas not.
Although she requested for bail, Chris Kahuame Mwesamze, the State Attorney of Kole magistrate rejected her request on grounds that releasing her on bail will jeopardize the investigation. He asked court to give them time to produce more evidence against the accused person.
Aciro was arrested on Thursday 14, March 2024 by the State House Anti- Corruption and taken to Lira central police station until Friday afternoon when she was transferred her back to Kole for the court hearing.
