New Iganga service commission cautioned against corruption

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Members of the new Iganga District Service Commission have been cautioned against engaging in corruption.

Iganga High Court registrar David Sauni said keeping clean hands will ensure that the commission members are never arrested and prosecuted over related offences like their counterparts in other districts.

According to Sauni, cases and reports of corruption are at a high rate in various district service commissions.

His call follows the recent arrest and remanding of Mpigi LC5 chairperson Martin Ssejjemba alongside district service commission members Fredrick Kirumira (chairperson) and Sarah Nakamoga (secretary) over bribery solicitation allegations.

The State House Anti-Corruption Unit, in a social media post on June 27, 2025, said it coordinated with the Police to arrest the suspects accused of soliciting bribes in exchange for jobs within the district.

Their arrest, according to the unit, followed a directive from President Yoweri Museveni during his Parish Development Model (PDM) programme monitoring tour in the Greater Mpigi area on June 17, 2025. This was after he received complaints from local journalists regarding widespread corruption in the Mpigi district recruitment process.

Sauni urged the Iganga team to perform their duties with integrity, reading laws and guidelines for their work under public service and co-operating with various stakeholders despite being independent.

He made the appeal while presiding over the swearing-in of the newly elected members of the Iganga District Service Commission at Hotel Fort Lugard in Iganga district on July 2, 2025.

The commission is headed by former Iganga district health officer Dr David Muwanguzi, and members include former Jinja College School headteacher Mathias Isabirye, Patrick Gwebayanga and Margret Ibaale.

Kigulu South Member of Parliament Milton Muwuma and district NRM chairperson Hajji Abubacker Walubi also emphasized the importance of integrity and transparency while performing their duties.

Muwuma said that several audit reports and other investigative agencies have always pinned the district service commissions over corruption tendencies, which prevent eligible servants from getting jobs and hence affect service delivery.

Meanwhile, Iganga district LC5 chairperson Ezra Gabula and Iganga municipality mayor Bamu Lulenzi asked the commission to speed up the recruitment exercise, citing several vacant key positions.

Gabula also revealed that they will have a large budget in the next financial year to recruit more civil servants for efficient service delivery in all sectors.

Muwanguzi promised to exhibit a high level of transparency while performing their duties.