The fight against corruption in Uganda’s flagship Parish Development Model (PDM) has scored another victory after the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Isingiro found Ayebare Isma, the former Chairperson of Rwakakoore “A” SACCO, guilty of extorting money from peasants.
Prosecutors told court that Ayebare exploited his leadership position to demand illegal fees from residents in Rwanjogyera Subcounty, misleading them that such payments were required before they could access PDM funds.
The scam, which targeted hundreds of households, frustrated the program’s goal of lifting rural Ugandans from subsistence farming into the money economy.
The Chief Magistrate sentenced Ayebare to pay a fine of UGX 1 million and ordered him to compensate all the victims. In default, he faces three years behind bars.
Ayebare’s arrest on July 31, 2024, came after a joint operation between the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and police in Isingiro, part of a wider effort to weed out fraud in government poverty-alleviation schemes.
Officials welcomed the conviction as a warning shot to those attempting to misuse public programs for personal enrichment.
They noted that protecting the PDM from abuse is critical to ensuring it delivers on its promise of grassroots transformation.