Minister Nameere Orders Arrest Of Kakunyu Parish Chief And SACCO Leaders Over PDM Funds Extortion

MASAKA CITY – The Minister of State for Local Government, Hon. Justine Nameere Nsubuga, has ordered the immediate arrest of the Kakunyu Parish Chief and several SACCO executives following widespread allegations of corruption, extortion, and mismanagement of Parish Development Model (PDM) funds.

The directives were issued during a tense, open community Baraza held in [Kakunyu Parish] Bukoto Sub-County, Masaka City.

 The meeting was organized to gather first-hand community feedback on the implementation and service delivery of government programs.

During the engagement, local residents openly accused the parish leadership of demanding illegal monetary kickbacks from beneficiaries before allowing them to access their allocated PDM funds. In addition to extortion, community members exposed severe irregularities in the beneficiary registers. Evidence presented showed widespread favoritism, including multiple instances where both husbands and wives from the same household improperly received duplicate funding, directly violating PDM guidelines.

In response to these public outcries, Hon. Nameere directed law enforcement to detain the implicated officials to face immediate criminal investigation.

"Government resources are strictly meant to uplift the incomes and livelihoods of the intended subsistence households," Hon. Nameere emphasized. "We will not tolerate parish leaders who exploit our citizens, demand bribes, or manipulate registers through favoritism. The PDM guidelines must be upheld with absolute transparency."

The Minister commended the residents of Kakunyu for their bravery in exposing the vice and urged all communities nationwide to remain vigilant. She reiterated that direct community feedback remains the most critical tool for enforcement, accountability, and the successful eradication of poverty through government programs.