Five Post Bank Employees Detained Over Alleged UGX 138M Theft

Arua Central Police Station is currently holding five individuals who are employees of Post Bank on suspicion of embezzling Shillings 138 million. The detainees have been identified as Leonard Lakwey, the Operations Manager, Walter Feni, the Customer Service Officer, Resty Lunkuse, David Tenywa, and Brian Olara Okidi, all serving as banking officers at the Arua branch.

The apprehension occurred upon their return to Arua from the Post Bank Head Office in Kampala, where they had attended a disciplinary session regarding the same incident the previous week. Initial reports suggest that the money disappeared during transportation from the Post Bank Arua branch, situated along Avenue Road in Arua City, to Yumbe District. The bank, however, denies these allegations.

Josephine Angucia, the Police spokesperson for the West Nile region, confirmed the arrests and mentioned that the issue came to light in December of the preceding year. Officials from the Post Bank Head Office in Kampala had conducted an end-of-year audit at the Arua Branch, discovering the missing 138.6 million Shillings. The police were subsequently notified on February 5, 2024.

Angucia stated that the suspects have been charged with theft of money, pending guidance from the Resident State Attorney.

In a statement released on Sunday, the police revealed that the Post Bank Arua Branch Manager and the Branch Operations Supervisor, both currently evading arrest, had skipped the disciplinary session at the Head Office. This incident is not the first time that Post Bank, a government-owned financial institution, has faced such allegations. In 2019, seven former top managers were accused of fraud amounting to about 4 billion Shillings, but they were later acquitted of the charges by the court.