On Tuesday 13, news of the arrest of over 40 passengers in two passenger vehicles in Kayunga headed for Kampala hit the media headlines with great shock.
It was reported that the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Elijah Madoi had acted on the intelligence that his Deputy James Mukose was masterminding an illegal transport business by clearing commuter taxis for Kampala in exchange of big commissions.
In a telephone interview with this news site, Madoi said he had always received complaints about his deputy’s involvement in illicit activities. This, he says, prompted him to lay traps which resulted in yesterday’s arrest.
“I have always heard that my deputy is involved in dirty deals. I gathered my intelligence clandestinely until today when I learned he had cleared two passenger vehicles for Kampala. The vehicles were cleared on the pretext they were traveling to Mpigi for burial,” Madoi told Watchdog on Tuesday.
When the vehicles were intercepted on the way, the operators, according to Madoi confessed to have been cleared by Mukose, assisted by a one Julius Atwiine, a police officer attached to the Traffic department.
Atwiine was apprehended by the Police’s traffic Directorate and arraigned before court today. Mukose was however expected to report to police later in the day to record his statement.
However, in a separate conversation with Watchdog Uganda this morning, Mukose denied the allegations levelled against him as ” baseless and bad intentioned”.
He accused his boss – Madoi of maliciously mudsliding him with a sole aim of tarnishing his reputation.
With over a decade’s experience serving as the President’s envoy in Tororo, Kapchorwa and now Kayunga, Mukose says he has built an impeccable reputation to the extent that extortion allegations coming up now seem too ridiculous.
He says that all trouble started when Mr Madoi, upon deployment as RDC to Kayunga unsuccessfully attempted to get into an affair with a junior female staff at the office.
When the woman refused all the advances from Madoi, Mukose says that he turned his desperate guilt into anger, thus victimizing all subordinates.
For Mukose specifically, Madoi reportedly accused him of masterminding a plot by staff to undermine him.
“Since then, my relationship with my boss has been a rocky one. He started causing me trouble and completely isolating me, keeping me on ‘Katebe’ without any duties delegated,” Mukose said.
RDC appoints own deputy:
Mukose says that at the peak of a silent war with his boss, a de facto Deputy RDC was chosen by Madoi, taking over all the duties that legally fall into his office as the designated Deputy.
Collins Kafeero, a children affairs official in the District Community Development office[CDO] is the one that has always been deployed by RDC to represent him on duties he is unable to attend.
On the issue of the controversial travel permits issued in his name, the Deputy RDC denies responsibility over them and insists this must be part of the numerous machinations that have over time targeted him. Mukose says he is confident that police will conclusively investigate the allegations against him to finally prove his innocence.
He also accuses Madoi of involvement in gross abuse of office, including a string of corruption scandals he said would only be tempted to unearth should the unsubstantiated attacks on him persist.
Presidency Minister Babalanda warns
During the handover ceremony at the President’s office last week, Milly Babalanda threatened action against RDCs locking their deputies out of official duties and instead opt for unauthorised individuals. This, she said, would not be tolerated under her tenure.
She added that her office could also consider issuing uniforms to staff in the offices of the RDCs all over the country so as to curb overcrowding, and weed out unwanted elements that have been reported to con unsuspecting members of the public.
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