The Inspectorate of Government (IGG) has recovered Shs3.8 million that was allegedly extorted from a job seeker by a technical officer attached to Zombo District Local Government during the 2025 recruitment exercise.
Speaking during a sensitisation meeting held in Zombo and Paidha Town Council, the Regional Inspector General of Government Officer, Nickolas Kajura, revealed that the officer allegedly obtained money from an applicant after promising to influence the district recruitment process.
According to Kajura, the officer claimed she could lobby members of the District Service Commission and manipulate recruitment scores in favour of the applicant because she was part of the technical team involved in the exercise.
“We handled a matter where a staff got money from one of the applicants saying that she was able to talk to the District Service Commission members and also assist in offering marks since she was supposed to be part of the technical persons during the recruitment exercise,” Kajura said.
He explained that the IGG recovered the money and directed that disciplinary action be taken against the implicated officer.
“We were able to handle that matter and the IGG took a lenient direction of having that person submitted to the District Service Commission for appropriate disciplinary action, but even then the money was recovered from the staff,” he added.
Kajura declined to reveal the identity of the officer involved, saying the matter had already been communicated to the Chief Administrative Officer for further action.
During the same meeting, the IGG Manager for Advocacy and Capacity Building, Christine Lamwaka, urged public servants to uphold accountability and integrity while executing their duties.
She warned that corruption in public recruitment undermines trust in government institutions and denies qualified candidates equal opportunities.
Meanwhile, the Resident District Commissioner of Zombo, Festus Ayikobua, raised concern over persistent allegations of extortion during district recruitment exercises and called for tougher action against corrupt officials.
However, the Chairperson of the Zombo District Service Commission, John Pascal Wapokra, defended members of the commission, insisting that they do not solicit bribes from applicants.
The revelations come amid growing scrutiny of corruption and irregularities in local government recruitment processes across the country.
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