Manafwa District Service Commission Accused of Bribery

Members of Manafwa District Service Commission are on the spot over alleged corruption allegations. The members are accused of soliciting bribes from applicants.

Some of the members of the commission include Agatha Nambuya, the Chairperson, Joseph Walyaula, the Secretary of the commission, Wanjusi Wesiba a former Minister of State in the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications who is also a member of the commission among others.

A family in Bududa district is accusing the members of the commission of asking for a bribe to offer their son a job but he was never shortlisted.

Edith Weyanga, the mother of one of the applicants collapsed and died on Wednesday after her son Emmanuel Maakuyi was not shortlisted despite allegedly paying 3.5 Million Shillings to the service commission.

Manafwa District Service Commission advertised for jobs early last year but the recruitment was halted by Resident District Commissioner Ahamada Washaki following the outbreak of covid-19.

Maakuyi, a resident of Bududa town Council in Bududa district says that when the recruitment process resumed, he applied for the position of District Commercial Officer. 

According to Maakuyi, he was called for aptitude tests and later shortlisted for the final interviews with 17 other applicants.    However, someone claiming approached his mother and demanded money and promised to offer her son a job.

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Maakuyi’s elder sister Grace Kalenda sent 3.5 Million Shillings to one Zipola Malisa who allegedly gave the money to the members of the commission.  Zipola could not pick our repeated calls for comment.

Kalenda says that when Maakuyi was not offered the job, they demanded a refund of their money from the commission. According to Kalenda, only two of the five members refunded 500,000 Shillings through mobile money. They are James Shikanga and Modester Nambuya.

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Agatha Nambuya, the Chairperson of the commission denied the allegations but added that middlemen could have extorted money from the applicants.  She however promised to investigate Maakuyi’s case.

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Ahamada Washaki, the Manafwa District Resident District Commissioner said that they have several times appealed to job applicants to stop giving bribes in exchange for jobs.

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In 2019, the Namisindwa District service Commission was also put on the spot for bribery. This followed the incident when Annet Nelima a parent to one of the job applicants collapsed in the office of the Chief Administrative Officer after her daughter Sulwa Lorno was not shortlisted.

 Nelima allegedly paid 3 Million shillings to Apollo Wapicho one of the commissioners who promised to offer her daughter a job as District Procurement Officer.