Lira , Ugnada – Atim Sarah, the PDM Chairperson of Ipito Aweno SACCO, located in Lira City West Division, is in serious trouble with the law following her involvement in an ongoing PDM cash scandal and extortion. She is expected to appear in court shortly to answer charges of extorting PDM funds and is likely to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays in jail due to her financial misconduct in Lira City.
In a press briefing held opposite Ojwina Police Station on Wednesday evening, the complainant, Akullu Charity, a journalist working with Daily Monitor Lira Bureau, accused Atim Sarah of withdrawing 1,000,000 shillings from her account.
Akullu claims that Atim convinced her to trust her with her National ID, SIM card, and mobile money PIN number under the pretext of withdrawing the money and delivering it to her, as she was sick.
“After remitting and disbursing the payment to my MTN line, she withdrew the money, claiming she gave it to me but accusing me of being drunk when she allegedly handed over the money, which is not true,” Akullu fumed.
Akullu further explained to the media that she had been admitted to the hospital when Atim told her that she had withdrawn the money and handed it over to an anonymous woman from Alebtong District for safekeeping.
A source in the police confirmed that Atim had also been arrested for several other accusations, including a recent incident where she clashed with a police patrol that linked her to a criminal group terrorizing people within Lira City West Division.
Enyango Walter, the Secretary of Ipito Aweno PDM SACCO, a 29-year-old man, stated that on December 2, it was resolved that Charity and four other individuals should be paid their PDM money. He mentioned that he had seen Atim withdrawing the money at Post Bank, which belonged to Akullu Charity. He urged the PDM Secretariat to transfer Atim Sarah and have her remanded as an example, suggesting that she be sent to Luzira Maximum Security Prison since she had been apprehended by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit recently for the same issue of PDM money extortion.
Another group member interviewed by the media called for the PDM Secretariat to have Atim put behind bars and transferred from Lira to Luzira without bail or police bond. They alleged that Atim has influential figures (“Godfathers”) in the city who compromise investigations into her financial misconduct regarding PDM extortion.
“President Museveni should send an independent team to investigate Atim Sarah, as the issue of her continuous PDM extortion has defied us here in Lira. She seems to have powerful connections in the commercial office,” said one source.
“I pray that justice should prevail, and such criminals should be brought to book so they can serve as an example to others who extort PDM money,” added Akullu.
The case has been registered under General Inquiry File Number GEF/045/10/12/2024.
