State House arrests Kole’s acting procurement officer

Kole I On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, a team from the State House Anti-Corruption Unit arrested the acting procurement officer of Kole district on charges of misusing government funds.

He was then handed over to the Kole Central Police Station for further investigation.

Atine Leo Conrad Angole was a senior community development officer (CDO) before being appointed to the procurement office on a temporary basis by Ekachelan Esau, the then-CAO of Kole, on October 5, 2023.

He was only to serve as procurement officer for six months. tndNews understands that his contract expired on April 5, 2024.

According to the then-CAO, Atine’s appointment occurred after senior procurement officer Aluma Amos Jabo went on leave. The latter had gone on a three-year leave.

Ekachelan then stated that Aluma’s absence had an impact on service delivery in the procurement and disposal department.

Aluma told tndNews that he left Stella Aguir in charge of procurement, citing her “substantial experience.” He also stated that Atine only had experience as a community development officer.

“After hearing that Stella Aguir was removed and replaced by Atine, I knew that Kole was going to mess up. It is because Atine is not qualified to lead the procurement department.

Stella Aguir stated that Aluma handed over her office in September 2022. “Unfortunately, I was removed from that position on October 5, 2023, and CDO Atine took over the office.”

Summary:

Aguir was a substantive procurement officer for over 12 years. Amos Aluma handed over office to her in September, 2020, and she acted as Senior Procurement Officer untill October 5, 2023 when it was removed and given to Atine Leo Contrad, who is senior community development officer and not qualified in that field.

Natasha Mariam, a spokesperson for the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, confirmed the arrest and stated that the district engineer is also expected to go and record statements.

She stated that the district engineer is wanted on charges of misusing shs1 billion from road funds.

“Atine will appear in court any time from now,” she told tndNews.