By Brenda Twinomugisha
Kapchorwa District LC5 Chairman Christopher Cheprui Sonko has come out to strongly refute allegations that he influenced the District Service Commission to recruit his brother Satya Lawrence for the position of Principal Education Officer (PEO). Satya was first appointed in March 2017 by the DSC which the whistle blower, writing as Ben Bosco Chelangat, says is too weak and serves as Sonko’s walking stick because it’s Chairman George Mwanga Chemonges is his brother-in-law. In a phone interview with this news website, Sonko admitted being related to Mwanga but denied ever influencing any DSC decisions. “Yes it’s true I’m a leader in Kapchorwa but my clear mandate is that of LC5 Chairman and I have never interfered in the work of the DSC,” he said before furiously hanging up. The whistle blower says that Sonko, whom he describes as very powerful, prevailed on the Town Clerk Moses Otimong, Mwanga and the CAO to ensure his brother Satya gets the job even when he was clearly not qualified for it. In a letter addressed to local government PS Ben Kumumanya, the whistle blower says as early as April 2017, Education Service Commission Secretary Asuman Lukwago wrote to Mwanga advising him not to appoint Satya but he ignored him. Later Kumumanya himself in July 2018 wrote to TC Otimong directing him to rescind Satya’s appointment but nothing happened. The whistle blower says this is because the TC feared reprisals from Sonko who he says is a very aggressive man who many district staff fear. Kumumanya, whose directive remains defied to this day, had directed that DSC Secretary Abbas Chekwot be subjected to disciplinary proceedings for ill-advising the DSC meeting that appointed Satya. On August, Mwanga felt the pressure had become too much and wrote to Asuman Lukwago admitting Satya was erroneously appointed. Lukwago replied confirming the appointment was a nullity and asked Mwanga to work with PS Public Service Ministry Catherine Musingwire to bring the matter to final resolution. Instead of acting as directed, the Kapchorwa Municipality officials acted with rare impunity and on 5th September 2018 they wrote to the Solicitor General Francis Atooke imploring him to declare Lukwago and Kumumanya’s earlier positions as untenable in law. The whistle blower, who describes himself as a concerned teacher, concludes by challenging Kumumanya to assert his authority by decisively acting against the DSC and the TC for defying his written directives regarding Satya’s appointment.
MWANGA SPEAKS OUT;
On his part, Mwanga explains that Satya was the best suited for the job even when he didn’t meet the minimum requirements to even be shortlisted. He admits that Satya didn’t meet the requirements but was the best suited of the 17 who applied for the job when it was advised. He was subsequently shortlisted alone and competed with himself until he was given the job. At some point Mwanga wrote to Asuman Lukwago asking for a waiver of the requirements to legitimize Satya’s recruitment, a request Lukwago never granted. Even when the advert required 6 years of experience as a teacher on government payroll, a Bachelor’s degree in education & a PGD in education management none of which Satya possessed, Mwanga still says his appointment was in Kapchorwa’s best interest because it’s “a hard to reach, hard to stay in and hard to live in area.” In the appointment letter dated 24th March 2017, Satya was to earn Shs14.4m annually at the scale of U2 for which the whistle blower says he doesn’t qualify for.
EXPOSING MORE DIRT;
In his letter, the whistle blower says that Satya (who in 2001 started teaching at Kapchorwa PS before joining Mbale SS as a grade 5 teacher in 2009) can at best be appointed as Assistant Education Officer and not PEO. At AEO, he is remunerated at U5 and it’s irregular for him to jump to U2 whic he has been earning since his irregular appointment of March 2017. The whistle blower implores Kumumanya to act very fast before Satya becomes the DEO as there are big officials in Kapchorwa who want him to become the next DEO his inadequate qualifications notwithstanding. The whistle blower adds that the Municipal Education Department has lately been used by Satya’s juniors to make money the very reason the public now sees them as businessmen and not civil servants anymore. That at schools like Kapchorwa Demonstration school, ill-qualified teachers are accelerated to become head teachers in the district once they part with between Shs0.5m and Shs1m. That those seeking transfers to better schools are asked to pay between Shs0.5m-1m. And that those seeking transfers from remorter districts like Karamoja are asked to part with between Shs1m-3m before being accepted into government schools in Kapchorwa. Saying the practice is wide spread, the whistle blower calls on the IGG (in a separate dossier) to investigate and interdict some DSC members. He argues that the current DSC is too subservient to politicians and is therefore not independent as envisaged in the Constitution. The whistle blower says sometime back the DISO inspected and closed several schools in the Municipality for want of minimum operating qualifications but Satya’s education department staff arbitrarily reopened them without insisting on compliance as ISO had decreed. The whistle blower also urges the IGG and Kumumanya to interest themselves with schools (like Talents Nursery P/S in Eastern Division, Stepping Stone Nursery & Primary School in Central Division and Top Hills Nursery & PS in Western Division) for benchmarking purposes. The whistle blower also calls for action against the CAO and TC for refusing to rescind Satya’s appointment on grounds that even his performance isn’t extraordinary. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
