Uganda refugee fraud claims probed

Uganda is investigating allegations of widespread fraud in its refugee aid programme. ‘The office of the Prime Minister has received reports alleging there could have been acts of mismanagement of funds and other resources meant to cater for refugees and host communities in the country,’ said Refugee and Disaster Minister Musa Ecweru. A report on the News24 site notes that aid workers have long suspected Uganda of inflating refugee figures in order to attract more aid which is then siphoned off by corrupt officials. Kampala claims to house 1.4m refugees, mostly from the ongoing civil war in South Sudan. A report on The Observer site says the EU has opened investigations into allegations of corruption in refugee assistance programmes in Uganda. A statement from the head of EU delegation in Uganda confirmed that it has formally submitted the case to the EU’s anti-fraud office for investigation. ‘We take a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to any allegations of misconduct occurring in European Union-funded projects and even more so when this has potential negative effects on an already very vulnerable population such as refugees and host communities,’ reads the statement.

Full Fin24 report

Full report on The Observer site