A storm is brewing in Kamdini Sub-County, Oyam District, where local officials stand accused of mishandling more than Shs100 million meant to help communities affected by wildlife. The money, given by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in April 2022, appears to have vanished without bringing any real benefits to the people it was intended to help.

The scandal came to light during a tense meeting called by UWA at Oyam District Headquarters. Wilson Kagoro, the warden in charge of community conservation at Murchison Falls National Park, didn’t mince words when he accused Kamdini officials of failing to explain how they spent the funds. “We trusted them to use this money to help people living near the park,” Kagoro said. “But they haven’t given us a proper account. This is completely unacceptable.”

Because of these unanswered questions, UWA has taken drastic action. The organization has stopped Kamdini’s funding for 2024/2025 and instead sent the money directly to the district account. Kagoro made it clear that Kamdini needs to “clean their house” before any more funds can be released.

The district’s Chief Administrative Officer, Frederick Hebat Kitutu, revealed that Kamdini did submit a report, but UWA rejected it because the numbers didn’t add up. The report included questionable expenses like scout training and project launch events – things UWA never approved. Making matters worse, the former sub-county chief, Geoffrey Okech, refused to answer questions about the missing money.

“He wouldn’t even show up when the District Public Accounts Committee called him,” Kitutu said. With no cooperation from Okech, the district had no choice but to bring in the Inspector General of Government to investigate.

Local leaders are furious about the situation. Kamdini LC3 Chairperson Terrence Omwonya pointed the finger directly at Okech’s administration. “The accounting for these funds was done very poorly,” Omwonya said. He noted that Okech was transferred to Loro Sub-County and later retired – a move some believe was to avoid facing consequences.

The people of Kamdini feel especially cheated because they continue to suffer from wildlife problems while seeing no benefits from the money meant to help them. LC5 Councillor Nommy Otyeno expressed the community’s frustration: “We’ve been complaining about this for so long. Where did this money go? Our people deal with dangerous animals every day, sometimes with deadly results, but we’ve seen nothing from these funds.”

The situation in Kamdini stands in sharp contrast to neighboring Myene Sub-County, where officials proudly showed how they used their UWA funds to drill ten new boreholes. “We accounted for every shilling,” said Myene’s LC3 Chairperson James Ogwal. “Our community can actually see where the money went.”

Attempts to get Okech’s side of the story failed – his phone number wasn’t working when reporters tried to reach him. Meanwhile, UWA’s June 2023 letter to the district makes clear what went wrong. Kamdini’s report listed expenses on things UWA never approved, while failing to show any real projects that helped the community.

With the Inspector General’s investigation ongoing, Kamdini’s chances of getting future wildlife funds look slim unless someone can finally explain what happened to that missing Shs100 million. For now, the people who were supposed to benefit from this money are left waiting – and wondering if they’ll ever see justice.