Archival Sense
JF-Expert Member
- Dec 16, 2025
- 341
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The Parliamentary Committee on Presidential Affairs has uncovered alleged irregularities in the government’s cattle compensation programme, including claims that some local leaders registered their own wives as widows so they could qualify for funds meant for vulnerable households.
Martin Ojara Mapenduzi, the committee chairperson and Member of Parliament for Bardege-Layibi Division in Gulu City, said the alleged scheme was uncovered as lawmakers began scrutinising how beneficiaries were selected and how compensation funds were distributed.
According to Mapenduzi, some LC officials allegedly went as far as declaring their wives widows, apparently giving them a better chance of receiving assistance intended for households genuinely struggling to recover.
The revelations have added an unusual twist to the committee’s ongoing audit of the programme, which is covering eight districts in the Acholi sub region and Gulu City.
The committee is now examining whether the beneficiary lists were manipulated and how many people may have been included because of their connections to local officials rather than their vulnerability.
The allegations also raise questions about the fate of households for whom the programme was designed. While some families may have been waiting for government support, others allegedly found themselves competing with beneficiaries who had the advantage of having an LC official in the family.
For the committee, the audit is therefore not simply about cattle or compensation. It is about establishing whether public funds reached the vulnerable households they were intended to support, or whether, somewhere along the way, the definition of “vulnerable” acquired a rather convenient family connection.
