Kyampisi Childcare Ministries an NGO dragged to court by US donors over conversion and fraud of donor funds
Engage Now Africa and Freedom Now International, US-based charitable organisations have dragged Kyampisi Childcare Ministries, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) based in Mukono District to courts of law over misuse of charitable funds.
The donors two in number have filed a petition before the Commercial Division of the High Court, seeking an order from them directing Kyampisi Childcare Ministries to account for the funds they donated through them, purposely to help the needy and combat human trafficking in Uganda.
Kyampisi Childcare Ministries together with its Executive Director, Peter Ssewakiryanga have been accused of conversion and fraud of donor funds, after failing to expend and account for over 200m shillings for the facilitation of more than 10 programs in Uganda.
J.L Oulanyah and Co. Advocates representative of Engage Now Africa and Freedom Now International, the US-based NGOs said the funds were transferred to Kyampisi Childcare, a local NGO strictly to facilitate programmed activities, and then after the completion of the projects, the director of the organisation was meant to account for the funds donated to them.
Among the activities arranged and never accounted for include; combating human trafficking and child sacrifice in Uganda, after signing a memorandum of understanding with Uganda Police Force to work as a team with the Kyampisi Childcare Ministries.
In the court’s document, Kyampisi Childcare Ministries and Ssewakiryanga falsely pretended to follow up a human trafficking case that involved young Ugandan women rescued from Saudi Arabia purposely to offer counselling and rehabilitation services to them, which they never did.
The document further stated that Ssewakiryanga and Kyampisi Childcare Ministries then deceived and requested for funding from the donors, with a mission of defrauding 3,082USD about 11m Uganda shillings which the donor wired to his bank account.
“Work was never executed and which monies were converted to other uses by the NGO and Mr Ssewakiryanga, and have remained unaccounted for, despite several requests from donors,” the courts document stated.
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“On November 19, 2016, the defendants (NGO and Ssewakiryanga) jointly by false pretence of following up on counselling for Uganda young women rescued from Saudi Arabia, to defraud, requested and received from the donors 9,965USD about 37m Uganda shillings which were never done,” courts document added.
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The court document further said that on November 30, 2016, again the defendants falsely pretended that they were going to pay medical bills of young women rescued from Saudi Arabia, and requested for funding from the donors.
But according to reports, the funds were channelled to other activities.
As a result, petitioners contend that Kyampisi Childcare Ministries refusal to give accountability on the funds offered to them, they are thinking of suspending the tax-exempt status as a US Charitable Organisations they currently hold, in Uganda.
