A contractor responsible for constructing the Mwello Seed School in Tororo District has been arrested following the project’s failure to meet its completion deadline.
Polly Natuhwera, the director of Zionat Multipurpose Limited, was apprehended by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) in collaboration with the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID).
According to SHACU, Natuhwera faces charges of embezzlement of government funds and fraud related to the project. The contractor allegedly misappropriated part of the advance payment amounting to sh162,080,929, resulting in his arrest and subsequent charges.
In a statement released on May 16, 2024, SHACU disclosed that Natuhwera admitted to diverting a portion of the funds for unauthorized purposes.
The sequence of events leading to Natuhwera’s arrest began in December 2023 when Tororo District Local Government entered a contract with Zionat Multipurpose International Limited for the construction of Mwello Seed School. The contract, valued at sh648,323,714, stipulated a completion date of May 30, 2024.
Despite the advance payment and the handover of the construction site in February, Natuhwera failed to commence work until April 19, 2024. Efforts by Tororo DLG officials to engage the contractor proved futile, prompting them to consider terminating the contract.
Upon investigation, SHACU discovered that the contractor had misrepresented the qualifications of the engineers assigned to the project. Although Natuhwera presented profiles of qualified and registered engineers during the bidding process, no such personnel were found to be actively involved in the project on-site.
Additionally, SHACU revealed that Natuhwera was concurrently involved in another construction project for Simu Seed School Phase II in Bulambuli district. However, despite signing the contract in January 2024, valued at sh89 million, the project had only reached the foundation level by the time of his arrest.
