Lira City, Uganda — The Territorial Police in North Kyoga Region have arrested three suspects for allegedly attempting to bribe a Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) scout in an effort to influence the conduct of the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), which officially began on Monday.
The suspects have been identified as Odongo George, Director of Atura Community Day Primary School in Oyam District; Simon Ekut, a former teacher at the same school; and Awoko Lavoiser, a teacher at St. Gracious Primary School, Barapwo, Lira City West Division.
According to UNEB Executive Director Dan Odongo, the trio offered a bribe of UGX 1 million to the UNEB scout assigned to supervise examinations in Oyam District.
“Our security teams arrested the director of Atura Community Primary School in Oyam district, who, together with two accomplices, attempted to bribe a UNEB scout responsible for overseeing examinations at his school,” Odongo said. “They were intercepted and are now in police custody. They will be charged under Section 26 of the UNEB Act, which covers such offenses.”
The arrests come as UNEB and security agencies intensify surveillance to prevent exam malpractice across the country. Odongo revealed that the board has received intelligence reports indicating planned examination malpractice in several districts, including Kayunga, Gomba, Buyende, and parts of Greater Kampala.
“We have credible information about some schools planning malpractice in different districts. Our teams are on the ground. We want to allow pupils to write their exams independently because those found cheating risk losing their results,” he warned.
Odongo further urged examination officials to exercise vigilance and adhere strictly to the official timetable when issuing examination papers.
“We’ve previously had cases where officials released papers scheduled for other days — mistakes that are very costly. Any person who negligently issues a wrong paper will face the full force of the law,” he cautioned.
The Primary Leaving Examinations began today with Mathematics and Social Studies papers, marking the start of a critical week for over 800,000 candidates sitting their final primary school exams nationwide.
UNEB reiterated that it will continue working closely with the Uganda Police Force and other security agencies to arrest and prosecute anyone attempting to compromise the credibility of national examinations, regardless of their status.