Five parish chiefs and Sacco leaders were arrested on Monday for extorting from parish development model (PDM) beneficiaries in the Sub County of Ikumba and Nshanjare Town Council in Rubanda district.

The arrested individuals are Justus Tumwesigye, secretary for Parish Development Committee Nshanjare Town Council; Arineitwe Ezera, chairperson for loans; and Tumwesigye Gerald, chairperson for PDC Committee Sacco for Nshanjare Town Council. They are suspected of extorting between Shs 50,000 and Shs 100,000 from PDM beneficiaries.

Elias Tumwesigye, the chairperson, and Unique Atuheire, the treasurer of the Ikumba Parish Development Model Sacco, extorted between Shs 50,000 and Shs 100,000 from over 15 PDM beneficiaries.

Eric Ssewandingi, the Rubanda District Acting RDC, says that he has managed to arrest the five officials in Rubanda district accused of extorting money from PDM beneficiaries in Ikumba Sub-county and Nshanjare Town Council, where he managed to recover money worth Shs 2.5 million in Nshanjare Town Council from Tumwesigye Justus, the secretary for PDC Nshanjare Town Council; Arineitwe Ezera, chairperson for Loans; and Tumwesigye Gerald, the chairperson for PDC Committee Sacco for Nshanjare Town Council. Ssewandingi said that the above individuals were collecting Shs 50,000 from each parish development model beneficiary.