NTOROKO I URN: Two former employees of Ntoroko District Local Government have petitioned the Ministry of Public Service and the Public Service Commission, accusing the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Moses Agum, of extortion, abuse of office, and spreading malicious information against them.
In a letter to the Public Service Commission dated April 24, the former employees allege that Agum demanded money from them in exchange for release letters and later authored adverse comments in their employment records, actions they say have blocked them from accessing salaries and assuming duties at their new work stations.
Anwari Kisekka, one of the complainants who was appointed as a Stenographer Secretary in December 2012, says his troubles started in 2023 after he fell sick and spent more than nine months in and out of the hospital.
Kisekka says that despite repeatedly requesting medical sick leave, his application was never approved. In June 2023, he received a letter informing him that he had been removed from the district payroll due to absenteeism.
According to Kisekka, he continuously wrote to district authorities seeking reinstatement on the payroll and explaining that his absence was due to illness, but no action was taken.
He says that due to this, in March 2026, he decided to resign from duty, but the CAO declined to process it, citing pending disciplinary matters against him.
Frustrated by the situation, Kisekka sought alternative employment and was appointed as a receptionist at Mountains of the Moon University. However, before he could access the public university payroll, he was required to obtain a release letter from Ntoroko District Local Government.
Kisekka alleges that when he approached Agum for the release letter, the CAO asked him to meet at a hotel in Fort Portal City.
“The CAO told me to meet him at a hotel in Fort Portal, and after explaining my frustrations, he asked me to give him four million shillings as fuel so that he could release my letter,” Kisekka alleged.
He says he informed the CAO that he did not have the money, but managed to raise two million shillings, which he allegedly handed over to Agum during the meeting.
Kisekka further claims that Agum advised him to first withdraw his resignation letter so that the release process could proceed, which he says he did.
However, after making several follow-ups, Kisekka alleges that the CAO instead threatened to “teach him a lesson on how to behave in local government.”
He says that after seeking guidance from the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Agum later called him and instructed him to pick up his release letter.
Kisekka, however, claims that the release documents were accompanied by comments indicating that he had absconded from duty.
He adds that even after his release, he later received another letter from the Ntoroko District Service Commission stating that he had resigned on grounds of abandonment of duty, a decision he says has affected his access to the payroll at his new workplace.
Robert Karugaba Musinguzi, a Senior Law Enforcement Officer who was appointed in April 2014, is also accusing the CAO of frustrating his transfer.
Karugaba says that in 2023, he was transferred from Karugutu Town Council to Kanara Town Council, but was later removed from the district payroll.
He told Uganda Radio Network that his attempts to seek clarification from the then CAO yielded no response, forcing him to continue working without a salary.
According to Karugaba, he later applied for the position of Senior Law Enforcement Officer with Fort Portal City in December 2025 and was successfully appointed in March 2026.
However, he says that before he could formally assume office, he was required to obtain a release letter and last pay slip from Ntoroko District, his mother district.
Karugaba alleges that when he approached Agum for the required documents, the CAO confiscated his appointment letter and informed him that he would not be released until they had “talked” first.
He says Agum promised to contact him later, but after waiting for a week without feedback, he contacted the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government seeking help.
Following the intervention, Karugaba says he was eventually issued a release letter and asked to collect the last pay slip the following day.
However, he says he was shocked to find comments on the pay slip indicating that he last received a salary in December 2023 and had thereafter absconded from duty.
Karugaba says the statement prompted the Fort Portal City Clerk to suspend his posting instructions pending submission of a recent pay slip certificate.
Karugaba further says that although the CAO issued him a release letter dated April 31, on April 9, he received a letter from the District Service Commission indicating that he had resigned from district service.
The two former employees are now seeking intervention from the Public Service Commission, the Ministry of Public Service, and other government agencies to compel Ntoroko District to clear their salary arrears, correct their employment records, and reverse decisions they describe as unfair and malicious.
They also want investigations into the extortion allegations against the CAO and compensation for the financial hardships they say they have suffered.
When contacted by this reporter, Agum declined to say anything about the allegations, noting that the Public Service Commission was handling the matter.
