AN employee of the National Forestry Authority has been arrested over a Thursday morning incident in which 12 computers were vandalised.
Mesach Katamba, an office attendant at the authority head office in Bugolobi, Kampala, was picked yesterday before being detained at Jinja Road police station.
Station CID chief, Herbert Wanyoto said the suspect was assisting them in the ongoing investigations.
His roles, among others, included ensuring that offices are locked in addition to activating the security system.
Staff on Thursday morning walked to their work stations, only to realise they had been vandalised. A private security firm provides guards who secure the place.
The acting executive director, Hudson Andrua yesterday said memory cards and processors of 12 computers were taken by unknown people.
The targeted computers were in Andura’s office, public relations, procurement, audit and the office of the coordinator advisory services.
Others were the office of monitoring and evaluation specialist, environment impact assessment chief, director plantations and his personal assistant and that of the acting coordinator plantation. “I reported the matter to police at Jinja Road. Detectives came here and recorded statements from people whose work stations where affected,” Andrua said by phone.
However, the motive of the theft was unclear. “If they wanted certain information, they would have taken hard disks,” Andrua stated.
The stolen items were valued at sh4m. According to him, no sensitive data was lost.
All the doors were intact, a sign that the vandals had genuine or master keys that gave them access to the offices.
Wanyoto disclosed that all staff were interrogated. Detectives did not recover any exhibits but were yesterday following several leads that could lead to the thieves’ arrest.
Two months ago, the authority came under the spotlight after its former executive director, Damian Akankwansa lost over sh900m to his wife, Juliet Katusiime.
President Yoweri Museveni directed the water ministry to send Akankwasa on leave in addition to ordering an investigation into the source of the monies.
A report from the ongoing investigation is expected early next year.
