Arua City Engineer Charles Omona has been released on Police Bond after refunding a sum of more than 28 million Shillings that he allegedly embezzled.
Omona was arrested on Thursday, November 23, 2023, by a team from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit over allegations of embezzling money meant to rehabilitate roads within the City.
According to a statement released by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Omona, together with other suspects still at large, irregularly transferred over 56 million Shillings from the Arua City’s Treasury single account to the imprest account in a yet-to-be-identified bank and withdrew it in cash.
“It’s alleged that during the month of June 2023, the suspect and others still at large irregularly processed and transferred over 56 million Shillings from the Arua City’s Treasury single account to the imprest account and withdrew it in cash,” the statement reads.
However, the money was reportedly handed over to Omona to pay service providers who did some road works and maintenance of Works Department vehicles. Instead, he used part of the money to solve his domestic problems, the state House Anti-corruption unit noted.
West Nile Region Police Spokesperson Josephine Angucia says that on Thursday, the State House Anti-Corruption Unit team discovered 5,000,000 million Shillings from the suspect’s home in Arua Academy Cell, Arua Central Division. She adds that Omona has now been released on police bond after his wife paid a balance of 23.6 million Shillings.
Omona is expected to report to the State House Ant-Corruption Unit in Kampala on November 27, 2023, for further management.
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