Namuwenge Orders Probe, Freezes Mbale Veterans Emyooga SACCO Account

MBALE CITY — The National Coordinator for the Emyooga Programme, Ms Ritah Namuwenge, has ordered the freezing of the Mbale Northern City Division Veterans Emyooga SACCO account amid a leadership crisis and allegations of fraud and misuse of government funds.

Namuwenge also directed the opening of a general inquiry file to investigate the allegations and establish the genuine beneficiaries of funds disbursed through the SACCO.

The directive was issued on Tuesday during a meeting with members of the Mbale Northern City Division Veterans Emyooga SACCO at Namakwekwe Primary School in Mbale City.

The meeting was attended by the Assistant Resident City Commissioner, Mr Alfred Chebet, officials from the division and city commercial offices, a GISO official, SACCO leaders and members.

Namuwenge said no transactions would be allowed on the SACCO account until the leadership disputes are resolved, new leaders are elected and an audit is conducted to establish how government funds were disbursed and who benefited from them.

She said the inquiry would also seek to establish whether the funds, which were intended to support veterans in Mbale Northern City Division, reached the intended beneficiaries.

“There is a leadership crisis in this SACCO, which we have come to put right. Someone brought members from Mbale District to Mbale Northern City Division Veterans Emyooga SACCO,” Namuwenge said.

“We want to know the genuine beneficiaries who took the money because this was money meant for the veterans of Mbale Northern City Division. All veterans claim that they have never received any money from Emyooga. We have asked for the list of beneficiaries so that we can establish what happened and help them,” she added.

Namuwenge said the SACCO account would remain frozen until the ongoing infighting among members is resolved and the organisation is put in order.

“Money is there, but you have to be organised. In other districts, people are already receiving additional funds while you are still fighting,” she told the members.

The dispute centres on the leadership and composition of the SACCO, with some veterans accusing Ms Rose Nambaya of taking over the leadership as chairperson despite allegedly not being a veteran.

The complainants further accused her of mobilising people from neighbouring Mbale District to join and occupy positions in the Mbale Northern City Division Veterans Emyooga SACCO.

However, Nambaya denied any wrongdoing and said she acted on the advice of officials after it became apparent that there were not enough veterans within the city division to form and operate the SACCO effectively.

“I was informed by officials to bring veterans from Mbale District to fill the gap in the city because we could not leave the money to just sit on the account yet there were people who needed it,” Nambaya said.

She said officials had advised her that the SACCO could incorporate other groups, including LDUs, vigilantes and cadres, to address the shortage of veterans in the division.

“Mr Siraji told me that veterans were not many and that we could mix them with LDUs, vigilantes and cadres. I asked Mr Magidu of FRO NASA to help me identify them. That is how I became a mobiliser of veterans, but I am not a veteran,” she said.

Nambaya maintained that the SACCO had records of its operations, including an audited report for 2025 and a renewed certificate.

She said members had also started saving through the SACCO and had applied for an additional Shs20 million, which she said was still on the SACCO account.

Namuwenge, however, insisted that an audit and investigations were necessary to establish the circumstances under which the SACCO was constituted, how members were recruited and whether government funds reached the rightful beneficiaries.

She directed the Office of the Resident City Commissioner to open a general inquiry file into the allegations of fraud and to help establish the identities of all beneficiaries who received money from the SACCO.

The investigation is expected to determine whether non-eligible beneficiaries accessed funds intended specifically for veterans in Mbale Northern City Division.

Namuwenge said the government remained committed to strengthening the Emyooga Programme and ensuring that intended beneficiaries are able to access financial support to expand their enterprises and improve household incomes.

She noted that the programme currently supports 18 enterprise categories and said the government was considering expanding the programme by introducing three additional SACCO categories.

The proposed categories, she said, would include SACCOs for religious leaders, cultural leaders and young people who completed school at least three years ago but remain unemployed.

The Assistant RCC, Mr Alfred Chebet, who represented the RCC at the meeting, urged the incoming leadership of the SACCO to prioritise transparency, accountability and the interests of members.

“Those who will be elected must be transparent, available to members and listen to their concerns. As we add new members, they must come when the house has been put in order and not inherit the bad things that have been there in the past,” Chebet said.

He urged veterans to put aside their differences and take advantage of government wealth-creation programmes to improve their livelihoods.

“The veterans fought for the peace of this country. We want you to transform that energy and use it to fight poverty. Let us take advantage of these government programmes to sustain your families and yourselves,” he said.

The freezing of the Mbale Northern City Division Veterans Emyooga SACCO account means members will have to wait for the conclusion of the investigations, an audit and the resolution of the leadership dispute before any further transactions can be conducted.

Authorities are also expected to oversee the election of new leaders as part of efforts to restore confidence, accountability and transparency in the management of the SACCO.

The developments underline growing concerns over the management of government poverty alleviation and wealth-creation funds, with Namuwenge stressing that beneficiaries must be properly identified and SACCOs managed transparently to ensure public funds reach the people for whom they are intended.