Lira City town agents, GISOs under probe for registering relatives for restocking

12 August 2026, 11:02 pm

By Winnie Auma

Lira City agents and GISO under probe for registering relatives for restocking

The Parliamentary Committee on Presidential Affairs has handed over two town agents in Lira City to police for questioning over alleged irregularities in the distribution of government funds meant for cattle restocking.

The two are Jaspher Loum, the Town Agent for Ipito Aweno-Ipito Gweno Ward in Lira City West Division, and Patrick Olade, the Town Agent for Barogole Ward in Lira City West Division.

The committee raised the concerns today during an engagement with Lira City leaders at the City Council Hall to assess the implementation of the cattle restocking programme in the area.

Loum was questioned over the registration of his wife, Lillian Aber, who resides in Boroboro Ward in Lira City East Division, as a beneficiary in Ipito Aweno-Ipito Gweno Ward in Lira City West Division.

He was also accused of colluding with Parish Development Committee members and some LC1 chairpersons to register their relatives as beneficiaries.

However, Loum admitted registering his wife, saying the vetting committee had asked him to submit the name of a relative he wanted to benefit from the programme.

In Barogole Ward, Otade was accused of registering people from outside the area and allegedly forging the names of beneficiaries. One of the cases cited was that of Michael Odongo, who was registered as a youth beneficiary, although Otade said Odongo was a person with a disability, making it difficult to establish the correct beneficiary category.

The Member of Parliament for Dodoth East, Peter Pex Paak, called for the arrest and prosecution of the two Lira City town agents accused of irregularities in the distribution of cattle restocking funds.

Paak said the town agents should be investigated for alleged corruption and collusion in allocating government funds to people who were not eligible. He also said the GISOs should be held accountable for alleged negligence of duty in failing to properly supervise the exercise.

The committee chairperson, Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, directed the Officer in Charge of CID for North Kyoga to take the two town agents and their respective GISOs to the police station to record statements as investigations continue.

Committee members also urged Lira City leaders and the security team, particularly the City Internal Security Officer, to ensure that beneficiaries are properly verified before any government funds are released.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Lira City, Sam Atul, has urged the government to involve district executive members in monitoring the programme to promote transparency and accountability in the distribution of the funds.

The Mayor of Lira City East Division, Emmanuel Ebong Opeto, has also called for the names of all beneficiaries to be displayed at parish headquarters to allow communities to verify whether the right people have been selected.

The Resident City Commissioner of Lira, Lawrence Emmy Egole, said the authorities had received several complaints of corruption involving leaders in the process of accessing the funds.

Egole said some beneficiaries had allegedly been forced to pay as much as five hundred thousand shillings to Parish Development Committee members before accessing the money.

He said four people had so far been arrested in connection with such cases. Three of them had been remanded, while one case was still pending.

The government earmarked UGX 80 billion for cattle restocking in the Lango, Acholi and Teso sub-regions, targeting vulnerable groups, including older persons, people with disabilities, child-headed families and widows in the financial year 2025/2026.