Mega Fm & Agency
NRM councilors in Gulu City have protested the interdiction of 14 civil servants over alleged irregularities in the government cattle restocking programme, accusing city authorities of selectively targeting officials and warning that the move could disrupt service delivery and revenue collection.
The councillors, drawn from Bardege-Layibi and Pece-Laroo divisions, demanded a review of the interdictions, arguing that investigations should establish individual responsibility for the alleged irregularities rather than penalise selected officials.
At least 11 principal town agents serving wards in the two divisions were interdicted on October 19, 2026.
The affected officials also include the City Information and Technology Officer, Baker Ochola, and the City Restocking Focal Person, John Charles Luwa.
The interdiction notices were contained in a letter dated October 19 and signed by Isabella Ndahura on behalf of City Town Clerk Innocent Ahimbisibwe.
A copy of the letter indicates that the interdictions followed reports submitted by the City Internal Security Officer to the Resident City Commissioner on Oct 12.
The reports allegedly identified civil servants suspected of benefiting from the restocking programme, either directly or through proxies.
Ndahura also indicated that she had written to the Regional Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at Aswa West on October 15, requesting a thorough investigation into the officials named in the reports.
Mega Fm has also learnt that another senior official, Nixon Komakech Atemo, the City Commercial Officer, was separately interdicted over allegations of mismanagement of the Parish Development Model (PDM) programme.
However, during a meeting convened by NRM councillors from the two divisions at Gulu City Council Hall on Friday, the councillors questioned the fairness of the exercise, alleging that some officials suspected of influencing beneficiary selection had not been subjected to similar action.
Tony Obalim, the Deputy Mayor of Pece-Laroo Division, accused city authorities of selective enforcement, alleging that some security personnel had influenced the selection process to secure benefits for their relatives.
Caroline Alarokuma, the female councillor representing Laroo-Pece Division, called for the interdictions to be reversed until investigations establish who was responsible for the alleged irregularities.
The protest comes about two months after Gulu City authorities launched investigations into alleged mismanagement of the government cattle restocking programme, which was introduced this year to support vulnerable households in the Acholi, Lango and Teso sub-regions.
