Kampala — THE Government is investigating the education ministry permanent secretary, Francis Lubanga, over allegations of nepotism, fraud, malicious dismissal of subordinates and abuse of office levelled against him.

The move comes after a whistleblower in the ministry sent a dossier to President Yoweri Museveni, the parliamentary committee on social services and ethics minister Nsaba Buturo.

Buturo confirmed receiving a copy of the report. "We are already investigating the claims," he told Sunday Vision. "Someone is complaining and we have to move fast to verify the complaint."

The chairperson of the social services committee, Rosemary Sseninde, also confirmed having received the report. But Sseninde said she had not yet analysed it because she had been out of the country.

"Our committee has been visiting schools countrywide and found many problems. We shall soon summon the education ministry officials and asked them to explain the issues, including those in that report after we have studied it," she said.

The report accuses Lubanga of replacing several employees in key positions with his relatives. It lists 30 employees at the ministry who are related to Lubanga, the majority of whom are said to have been irregularly hired or promoted.

Among those he allegedly hired are his sister, son, daughter, wife, uncle, nephew, as well as in-laws and other close family members. The 14-page dossier says Lubanga's relatives have been put in charge of multi-million projects in different departments within the ministry.

"This report is non-sectarian and we are armed with knowledge and documents to defend whatever we have in it," the whistleblower wrote in the dossier titled "Corruption in the Ministry of Education".

The report accuses Lubanga of influencing and deciding who should be appointed or deployed in the ministry.

Lubanga's wife, the report says, was promoted from teacher to deputy head teacher at Kyambogo College School and, while still on probation, was appointed the headmistress of the school. "This is contrary to the education policies and practices," the report notes.

Lubanga's son, David Mugerwa, was put in charge of monitoring a multi-billion Africa Development Bank project and earns $3,500 (over sh6.5m) as an expatriate, according to the report.

Lubanga's sister, Jacky Nakato, was appointed an accountant of a multi-billion education agricultural component project, the report adds. Nakato allegedly sidelined the head of the project, Achar, and worked directly with her brother.

"The project was mismanaged and a lot of funds were lost. Achar was later victimised for the sins committed by Nakato," notes the whistleblower.

Still according to the report, Lubanga's daughter, Kisawuzi Namirembe, was appointed recently to co-ordinate the activities of a World Bank project in the ministry located in the IPS building.

It also notes that the assistant commissioner for personnel, only identified as Ssemakula, is a brother-in-law of Lubanga and that several of the drivers hired in the ministry are related to Lubanga, citing Kibalama, his uncle and Sserwadda, his nephew.

The report alleges that seven former senior employees at the ministry were dismissed in an irregular way. Some of them have since sued and have been awarded damages in millions of shillings, it adds.

The dossier accuses Lubanga of diverting funds meant for other duties, citing the presidential pledges for the rehabilitation of primary schools, which he allegedly diverted to build a nursery school at his home in Mwererwe.

The whistleblower called for further investigations and action "before it is too late".

Sunday Vision verified several of the claims and found them to be true.

According to two officials contacted in the education ministry, the findings in the report are not new.

"We knew all those things, but we could not do anything. That man is very powerful. If you dare him, you will have no job tomorrow," said an official on condition of anonymity.

Lubanga could not be reached for a comment as he was in Cuba on official duty.