By Our Reporter
MOYO, UGANDA— The Office of the Registrar of Cooperatives at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives has been dragged into a deepening leadership feud rocking Moyo SACCO.
A formal petition has been slapped against the SACCO’s Vetting Committee (VETCO) and the District Commercial Officer (DCO) of Moyo, accusing them of high-handedness, structural impunity, and a blatant disregard for the Cooperative Societies Act (CAP 107).
The petitioner is seeking urgent state intervention to stop the illegal installation of an interim board, following the chaotic collapse and abortion of the SACCO’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 16, 2026.
Illegal VETCO Setup:
According to the petition, the entire vetting process was compromised from the start. Under Article 45 (ii) of the Moyo SACCO Bylaws and the Registrar’s Circular No. 2 of November 2024, VETCO members must be directly elected by the AGM.
Instead, the Moyo DCO allegedly usurped the powers of the SACCO members and single-handedly handpicked the committee.
The petition further states that the Moyo District Commercial Office is locked in an active legal dispute with the SACCO. Armed with this conflict of interest, the DCO and Senior Commercial Officer (SCO) reportedly weaponized VETCO to purge the serving Board Chairman and other sitting directors who expressed interest in seeking re-election.
To ensure total control, the Moyo DCO is alleged to have deliberately blocked the DCOs of Yumbe and Obongi districts from participating, violating statutory guidelines for SACCOs operating across multiple districts.
Alleged Graft and Nepotism Claims:
The petition exposes staggering integrity failures at the heart of the vetting committee:
- The 12-Year Loan Default: Mr. Opiku Louis, a former board member, was installed as the VETCO Chairman despite being a known loan defaulter. Under SACCO rules, defaulters are strictly barred from leadership. Records show Opiku holds an outstanding 15m/- loan issued over 12 years ago on February 12, 2014.
- Nepotism and Conflict of Interest: Chairman Opiku allegedly presided over sessions to vet his own biological nephew for the position of Vice Board Chairperson. Furthermore, Opiku’s spouse is currently employed at the Moyo SACCO branch in Dufile, directly violating bylaws that prohibit spouses of staff members from sitting on the board.
- Leaked Minutes: The DCO’s office allegedly hijacked the committee by forcing himself in as the VETCO Secretary—a role legally reserved for the General Manager. Secret vetting minutes were reportedly leaked to social media by political proxies before the official documents were even signed.
Usurping AGM Powers:
The petitioner notes that VETCO overstepped its legal boundary by secretly “allocating” leadership positions to pre-determined candidates instead of simply vetting them for a democratic election.
In one bizarre instance, three separate individuals who all applied to be Vice Chairman were instead redistributed behind closed doors—one declared unopposed as Vice Chairman, another as Secretary, and the third as a ordinary board member.
The petitioner, who was initially fully cleared to run for SACCO Board Chairperson, was later arbitrarily disqualified by the exact same committee after political actors reportedly stormed a VETCO vetting session to level wild, unverified allegations.
The Ministry’s Registrar of Cooperatives is now under intense pressure to nullify the aborted AGM proceedings, dismantle the contested interim board, and order a fresh, legally compliant vetting process.
When contacted by our news team for an independent side of the story, Moyo DCO did not answer our repeated phone calls.
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