Sin of holding two government jobs: Teacher in trouble

The Inspector General of Government (IGG) has directed the dismissal of a government official accused of illegally holding two public positions.

In a directive issued by the Inspectorate of Government, Ms Nusurah Nambassa, a teacher at Kakoola High School in Luweero District and a councillor at the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), has been ordered to be removed from public service and also be deleted from the government payroll.

According to the directive seen by this publication, Ms Nambassa has been serving as a woman councillor representing Nabisunsa Parish at KCCA while still holding her position as an education officer.

The IGG says the arrangement contravenes provisions of the Local Governments Act, which bars public officers from serving as councillors in local governments.

She goes on to quote Section 129(5) and (7) of the law that requires any public officer seeking election to a local council office to resign from public service at least 30 days before nomination.

In a January 19 letter, the Deputy Inspector General of Government, Ms Patricia Achan Okiria, directed the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education to cause Ms Nambassa’s dismissal from public service.

“In light of the above findings, you are advised to cause Ms Nusurah Nambassa, education officer, to appear before the Education Service Commission with a view to dismissal from service for seeking office of councillor without resigning from the position of education officer,” the letter partly reads.

According to the IGG’s findings, Ms Nambassa picked nomination forms from the Electoral Commission on September 15, 2020, to contest for the position of Woman Councillor for Nabisunsa Parish without first resigning from her government job.

She was subsequently nominated and later emerged victorious in the January 5, 2021 elections. The anti-corruption body also wrote to the KCCA executive director, directing that Ms Nambassa be removed from the authority’s payroll because she assumed the councillor position without relinquishing her earlier public office.

“You are required to inform us of the action taken as soon as possible, but in any case, not later than 14 days from the date of receipt of this report,” the IGG directed.

The directive means Ms Nambassa could lose both positions if the orders issued to her employers are implemented.

Efforts to obtain a comment from KCCA Spokesperson Daniel NuweAbine on whether the Executive Director, Ms Sharifah Buzeki, had implemented the directive to remove Ms Nambassa from the KCCA payroll were unsuccessful as he did not answer to repeated phone calls by press time.

Similarly, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Mr Denis Mugimba, could not be reached to confirm whether the ministry’s permanent secretary had acted on the IGG’s recommendation to have Ms Nambassa appear before the Education Service Commission for possible dismissal from public service.

Dr. Okiria emphasised the importance of values like service, creativity, responsibility, and teamwork