Contractor Rescued From Mob Over Shoddy Work

Police in Bukwo district are facing a big challenge to stop locals who have resorted to mob justice as means of dealing with suspected corrupt officials and contractors accused of doing shoddy work. 

On Sunday, the police and Bukwo Resident District Commissioner, Samuel Hashaka Mpimbasa battled with angry residents who had attempted to lynch Difas Kyekwer, the managing director of Kortek general agencies for allegedly doing shoddy work.

Bukwo district contracted Kortek general agencies to renovate Kabei Primary school in  Kabei sub-county at Shillings 70million. On Sunday, angry residents armed with sticks, clubs, stones, and old tires attempted to attack the contractor for allegedly executing a shoddy job. 

"Mob justice to some of these corrupt officials and their contractor is the only option to deal with them because taking them to the police is just a waste of time," said Paul Chemutai, one of the aggrieved residents.

Joseph kiplingat, one of the residents explains that before the work started they start with the contractor and agreed that he would repaint the walls and reconstruct the verandah of the classroom block. He, however, says that there is nothing on the ground to show value for money. 

"When we sat in the meeting when the project was starting, the district officials told us the renovation work was to repaint the wall and reconstruct the verandah of the block, which has not been done," he said.

It took the intervention of the RDC and Police to save Difas from the charged residents. He could not speak to journalists as he was at the mercy of the RDC and the Police. This is not the first time residents of Bukwo are attempting to lynch officials accused of corruption in the district.

On Wednesday last week,  police rescued the sub-county chief of Chesower from being lynched by a mob for allegedly misappropriating Shillings 18 million from the road fund. In April, the town clerk of Bukwo town council  Stephen Kipling survived mob action when angry residents stormed his office.

In March, the managing director of Bam construction company Benard Wataka fled from his site in Kapinyiny seed secondary school after the community wanted to lynch him for allegedly executing a shoddy job on the Shillings 200million structure.

Aminisi Kayondo, the Bukwo District police commander, says that are trying all ways to make the community stop taking the law into their hands.

"The Appetite for mob justice is too much in Bukwo but we are doing all the available means through community policing to sensitize them not to take the law into their hands," he said.