Police have detained three teachers from Midland High School for the unauthorized possession of Uganda Certificate of Examination (UCE) papers. Jennifer Kalule Musamba, the spokesperson of the Uganda National Examination Board, has identified the suspects as chief invigilator Dalton Denis Lubega, a teacher at Midland High School, Luwero campus, who was deployed at Goshen Secondary School, Victoria Model, and Shammah High School on different days.
The other suspects are Zawadi Bwambale, the Deputy Headteacher of Midland High School, Luwero campus, and Herbert Woopo, the Director of Studies at Midland High School, Buntaba, Mukono campus.
According to Kalule, while serving as the chief invigilator, Lubega would provide exam papers to candidates and then photograph them before sharing soft copies with Bwambale, Woopo, and others who are still at large.
Lubega was apprehended by UNEB investigators after sharing commerce and entrepreneurship papers with his colleagues.
The suspects were subsequently handed over to Luwero Central Police Station. Kalule stated in a statement, “The trio will appear in court to answer the charges of unauthorized possession of examination materials, aiding and abetting malpractices, and appearing in the examination room with electronic gadgets with intent to disrupt the conduct of examinations They will be charged under sections 25 and 30 of the UNEB act 2021.”
Sam Twiineamazima, the Savannah Regional Police Spokesperson, confirmed the detention of the teachers but requested time to provide an update on the progress of the case.
In a related development, the Police in Kampala have arrested Tom Okwenyi for sharing fake Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) papers. Okwenyi, a former teacher, created a social media platform dubbed Elite SST Senior Examiners, where he shared counterfeit papers with over 1500 members of the group.
Police are also actively searching for the administrators of another page named “Beans” where fake PLE papers were also shared. Kalule emphasized that UNEB monitors online platforms and cautioned the public against forwarding any content claiming to be UNEB papers. Since the commencement of this year’s UCE examinations, UNEB, in collaboration with the police, has apprehended numerous individuals, primarily head teachers, teachers, and invigilators, on allegations of engaging in malpractice.
Last month, Police in Kampala arrested Williams Suuna, the head teacher of Old Kampala Secondary School, Luyima Gilbert, a teacher at Bank Hill College, Zana, and Zuria Kunia Kareem, the Headteacher of Nakaseke Seed School over exam malpractices. The trio was allegedly found in possession of what appeared to be a Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) examination paper.
According to the UNEB Act, once convicted, culprits now face the possibility of imprisonment ranging from 5 to 10 years or hefty fines of up to 20 million Shillings.