Residents of Namwenula ward in Bumbo town council in Namisindwa district have stormed the residence of their area Member of Parliament, John Musila contesting the alleged inclusion of Kenyan nationals among the parish development model (PDM) beneficiaries. Bumbo town council is found along the Uganda- Kenya border.
However, residents accused Moses Situma, the Namwenula ward PDM chairperson of registering Kenyan beneficiaries at the expense of native Ugandans. According to Joshua Watenyeli, one of the concerned residents, Situma included 15 Kenyans out of 87 beneficiaries in phase II of the program, which contravenes the program guidelines.
The locals sought Musila’s intervention but later turned against Situma when he appeared, nearly resorting to violence. Peter Busawule and Martine Sitsangi, both community members want PDM officials to revoke the list. They claim that Kenyans paid Situma between Ugandan Shillings 100,000 and 500,000 to be included on the list of beneficiaries.
Situma denied the allegations stating that the individuals he registered were Ugandans by birth who had temporarily crossed into Kenya for trade. John Musila, the Bubulo East constituency member of parliament criticized Situma’s actions and called for an investigation by the RDC office and the police. Julie Namara, the Deputy Namisindwa Resident District Commissioner, confirmed the incident and emphasized that the PDM program is exclusively for Ugandans.
She expressed concern that considering Kenyan residents over natives sends the wrong message. Last week, Imran Mulunga, the Namisindwa Resident District Commissioner, instructed all parish chiefs and PDM chairpersons to refund any money they received from beneficiaries unless they wanted to face arrest.
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