Security personnel at Gulu University have arrested four people for allegedly attempting to sit mature pre-entry examinations on behalf of other candidates. The suspects were arrested on Saturday at the Gulu University Main Campus in Gulu City while sitting for the mature age pre-entry examinations for the Medicine course.
A total of 302 applicants had been verified to sit for the mature-age pre-entry examination, out of which 162 were for the medicine course, according to University officials. James Ojok Onono, the Gulu University Public Relations Officer, told Uganda Radio Network Sunday that the suspects were arrested after examination, invigilators noticed a variance in features on their national Identity Cards (IDs).
Onono said the invigilators and security officers observed strange forged national identity cards bearing suspicious features that did not match those issued by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA). According to him, upon interrogation, it was established that the suspects had been hired by genuine candidates to sit the mature entry exams on their behalf.
“These people, on interrogation, said they prepared these national identifications from Nassar Road in Kampala. They were not smart enough because the pictures were of themselves who were impersonating and taking the examination, but the names were for the real registered people they were sitting on behalf. So we were smart enough to detect all play,” Said Onono.
The suspects have been identified as Enoch Ssempija 25 from Kampala, who was sitting for Isaac Mbanadho, Lawrence Mukiibi 39, also from Kampala, who was sitting for Masosha Esau. Others are Hama Abaho, 26, from Ntungamo, who was impersonating Samuel Omara, and Williams Aine, 28, from Kampala, who attempted to sit for Timothy Wyclip Kyeyone. Onono condemned the act, describing it as “unacceptable within the university system” and a serious abuse of the Mature Age Entry process.
Under the scheme, Ugandans aged 25 and above are offered an opportunity to access higher education through two sets of examinations, a general paper and a subject-specific paper. He, however, commended the vigilance of university invigilators, lecturers, and security officers who uncovered the fraud and prevented what he termed “a serious academic crime.”
“We thank our staff and the police for their swift response. Such acts tarnish the integrity of the university and the education system at large,” he said. University officials say this is the first time suspects have been apprehended impersonating selected applicants for the mature age pre-entry examinations and have pledged to improve vigilance to avoid repetition of the vice.
The suspects are currently being detained at Gulu University Police Post, where they face charges of impersonation, falsification, and forgery of documents. The case has been registered under reference SD.REF 04/25/10/2025 and is expected to be transferred to Gulu Central Police Station for further investigation.
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