By Norbert Mao
Police in Oyam District have arrested a father and his daughter over the alleged theft of five million shillings meant for a beneficiary of the Government’s cattle re-stocking Programme.
The suspects have been identified as 58-year-old Odongo Quinto and his daughter, Auma Lydia, a mobile money agent operating in Kamdini Town Council.
Both are residents of Dog Fitina Village in Myene Parish, Myene Sub-county.
According to Police, the complainant, Adong Rose, 59, was profiled and registered as a beneficiary under the government Programme.
However, preliminary investigations indicate that during the registration process for a Wendi account, her account was allegedly linked to a phone number controlled by Odongo Quinto instead of her own.
Police further allege that with the assistance of his daughter, the SIM card linked to the account was later swapped, giving the suspects access to the beneficiary’s funds.
Investigations show that on June 9th, when the government disbursed five million shillings to the account, the suspects allegedly facilitated a PIN reset and withdrew the money through a financial institution in Kamdini.
The matter was reported to Police, leading to the arrest of the suspects. Detectives have since recovered both the original and swapped SIM cards and obtained mobile money transaction records linked to the suspects.
The suspects remain in custody at Oyam Central Police Station as investigations continue. The case file will be submitted to the Resident State Attorney for legal advice.
North Kyoga Regional Police Spokesperson, SP Patrick Jimmy Okema confirmed the report and has urged the public to respect government programmes and ensure resources meant for beneficiaries reach the rightful recipients.
Okema also warned that anyone found undermining government interventions through fraud will face the full force of the law.
The Cattle Restocking Program is a government-led initiative targeting vulnerable households in Northern and Eastern Uganda (including the Acholi, Lango, and Teso sub-regions). It provides compensation to help communities rebuild their livestock assets, which were severely depleted by decades of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgencies and cattle rustling
