Two primary school teachers in Kyotera District have been arrested following allegations that they remained on the government payroll for more than 15 years without the qualifications required to teach.
District authorities identified the men as Charles Sseruwu and John Kavuma, who were serving at Kakunyu Primary School in Kabira Sub-county.
Their employment records came under scrutiny after a whistleblower questioned their academic qualifications, prompting an investigation by district officials.
Kyotera District Education Officer Lawrence Ssekyondwa said inquiries subsequently uncovered suspected fraud involving both identity and academic documents.
Investigators allege that Sseruwu had been using the identity of Joseph Kabazzi, a qualified teacher who had earlier left the profession after experiencing health challenges.
Authorities say Sseruwu is related to Kabazzi and allegedly used his identity to receive a government teacher’s salary for years.
In Kavuma’s case, investigators suspect that he was irregularly recruited and placed on the public service payroll even though he did not possess the minimum academic qualifications required for the teaching profession.
Officials say several documents have been obtained during the investigation, including academic papers, appointment letters and posting instructions.
Statements have also been recorded from relatives as investigators try to determine how the two men entered the teaching service and remained there for more than a decade.
The suspects have been handed over to police, while district authorities have begun considering steps to recover salaries they say may have been fraudulently obtained.
Chief Finance Officer Robert Kyambadde said district payroll records showed that payments linked to Sseruwu were being made in the name of Joseph Kabazzi.
Kavuma is separately accused of using forged academic documents to secure his position.
“We also need to establish why the headteachers failed to thoroughly verify the identities and qualifications of these individuals. We believe the suspects can help expose the wider network behind this scheme,” Kyambadde said.
Authorities are now looking beyond the two suspects to establish whether weaknesses in recruitment and supervision allowed the alleged scheme to continue undetected.
Deputy Resident District Commissioner Mathias Mulindwa said the case should serve as a warning to the district administration.
Officials plan to conduct stronger verification of civil servants amid concern that other people who do not meet employment requirements could still be receiving salaries from the government.
The suspected fraud is believed to stretch back to the period before Kyotera District was established.
The area previously formed part of Rakai District until Kyotera became a separate administrative unit in 2017.
Concerns about irregular employees on the local government payroll are not new.
In 2016, the Inspector General of Government conducted a human resource audit in the then Rakai District and uncovered about 200 ghost workers and unqualified civil servants. The irregularities were estimated to have cost the government millions of shillings.
