Mbarara City official arrested for stealing salon money

MBARARA– Mbarara City Assistant Commercial Officer Donati Mutaahi and three others have been arrested by the police over the embezzlement of Shs10 million belonging to Emyooga SACCO of salon operators.

Mutaahi who has been in the news for the wrong reasons was on Tuesday arrested alongside three others- Agaspus Taremwa, Twaha Nangwagye and Enid Tinkamanyire. The three belong to Mbarara City South Salon Operators Association where they work as Chairman, secretary and treasurer respectively, and are in charge of the association’s SACCO funds.

According to Moses Ariho, the Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Mbarara City South Division, the arrest of Mutaahi came a few hours after the salon SACCO members accused the city’s commercial officials of stealing Shs 6mln but that figure has now risen to Shs 10mln.

“They say three groups have Shs 1.5 mln each then five groups with Shs 2mln each, other 5 groups have Shs 500,500 each, then one group has Shs 3mln and another group has Shs 4mln. I think it is the secretary who borrowed the money from the SACCO as an individual but they are claiming it is a group.”

Surprisingly, Ariho said,  the other committee members of the salon SACCO do not know anything about the account transactions made by the principal signatories to the account.  “The chairman, secretary, and the treasurer who were the principal signatories must be detained to account for the missing 10mln,” Ariho said.

Ariho said Mutaahi and the Principal Commercial Officer James Agaba had been on the run since members of another SACCO alleged that each of the officials swindled Shs 8mln meant for Mbarara City South Carpenters Association.

RCC Ariho said Mutaahi was arrested from Ntare Gardens on Tuesday evening after requesting to meet the authorities secretly.

“I want to confirm that today we arrested the Assistant Commercial Officer, Mutaahi Donati, he has been on run for a week and now we have launched a hunt for the principal commercial officer Mr. Agaba James because he is the principal and these two were handling the office,” Ariho said.

The RCC said Mutaahi wanted to bribe him with money to avoid being arrested. “Mutaahi was in hiding, but today [Tuesday], when he called me he said I want us to settle this matter. I asked, how? He answered that I am giving you Shs 10 mln. As we were going to meet him, he said I am making it Shs 30mln. However, as someone who is doing government work I guided him to repay the stolen funds such that it can support the intended groups,” Ariho said.

Ariho said Mutaahi and Agaba have been named in several cases where the Emyooga SACCO members have accused the two city officials of stealing their Emyooga money.

“Beneficiaries are complaining that they have never seen the money and when you share with the leadership of these SACCOs they will tell you it’s the commercial officers who ate the money. Some other SACCOs have lost Shs 10 mln, Shs12 mln, and Shs 8mln, respectively to the officials. So the list is endless,” the RCC said.

When asked, Mutaahi denied the fraud allegations claiming that the RCC is tarnishing his image in the public.

This reporter tried to contact the principal commercial officer Agaba to comment on the matter but his known phone numbers were switched off, as he is hiding from authorities that want him to answer charges labelled against him.

Mbarara City received Shs1bln where Shs 500 Mln went to Mbarara City North Division while the remaining half of the money was disbursed to Mbarara City South Division.

https://thecooperator.news/mbarara-city-officers-face-arrest-over-emyooga-cash/

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