By Mike Rwothomio

Four electoral commission officials in Zombo District have been arrested for allegedly extorting money from candidates in the women councils and committees elections.

The four Parish election officers, all from Athuma Sub County, have been identified as Omirambe Milton (Zulume Parish), Denis Omirambe (Leda Parish), Kasamba Alyasius (Abaji Parish), and Cissy Afoyocan (Olyeku Parish).

Zombo Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Festus Ayikobua confirmed the arrests, stating that the officials had reportedly demanded between Ugx 50,000 and 100,000 shillings from candidates to register them for the exercise, which is free of charge.

Ayikobua said the alleged extortion caused many women to withdraw from participating in the elections as they could not afford the amounts being demanded.

“I have picked four electoral commission officials from Athuma Sub County. They were extorting money for nomination from women council candidates,” Ayikobua said during a press conference in Paidha Town Council on Sunday, July 27, 2026.

He added: “The four were later released and I ordered the Returning Officer of Zombo to immediately remove them from the service. We have so many people who are willing to work for the district.”

Ayikobua explained that the district would not tolerate corrupt officials disrupting services for the community.

The Zombo Electoral Commission is yet to issue a statement on the incident.

The women council committee elections were held on Thursday last week.

Preparations are now in full swing ahead of the Tuesday LCI polls across 752 villages in Zombo District.

The Electoral Commission has reiterated that aspiring candidates for the 2026 Village (LC I), Parish (LC II), and Women Councils elections are not required to pay any nomination fees.

The directive was issued by Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Byabakama Mugenyi Simon during a press briefing in June 2026, when he announced the electoral programme for the Administrative Units and Women Councils and Committees election.

Mike Rwothomio is news editor at Zoomer Africa your number one grassroot information hub for African news trends and updates.