By URN
Severino Kaheru, a member of the Kiryandongo District Service Commission, is in custody at the Kiryandongo Central Police Station on allegations of extortion. He was arrested over the weekend following instructions from Samuel Mbabazi, the Kiryandongo Assistant Resident District Commissioner (RDC).
Kaheru is accused of extorting 2 million Shillings from Rebecca Nalwanga, a job seeker who applied for an enrolled nurse position advertised by the district. Nalwanga, after being shortlisted for the job, claims she was approached by Kaheru, who demanded 2 million shillings in exchange for securing her the position. Desperate to secure the job, Nalwanga borrowed the money from a moneylender, offering her land as collateral.
She then handed over the 2 million shillings to Kaheru, but despite paying the amount, she was never offered the job. As a result, Nalwanga lost both the money and her land to the moneylender after failing to get the job. Upon realizing she had been scammed, Nalwanga reported the matter to the office of the Assistant RDC.
Mbabazi initiated an investigation, which led to Kaheru’s arrest. He was detained at the Kiryandongo Central Police Station, where he reportedly admitted to receiving the money from Nalwanga. Mbabazi further revealed that many other job seekers in the district have fallen victim to similar extortion schemes by some members of the District Service Commission.
Between June 2022 and July 2024, investigations were carried out into allegations of extortion and corruption in the recruitment of workers in several districts, including Hoima, Masindi, and Kikuube. In these districts, government officials and politicians were accused of demanding between 500,000 and 1,000,000 shillings from job applicants in exchange for promises of employment in various government departments.
