Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama has accused officials in the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) of presiding over a multi-billion-shilling corruption racket involving inflated road contracts, kickbacks, collusion with contractors and diversion of public funds.
Byamukama said corruption had become one of the major reasons some of Uganda’s roads remain in poor condition despite government allocating substantial amounts of money to infrastructure development.
He said some officials entrusted with managing roads had instead colluded with contractors and other public officials to inflate project costs, depriving the country of resources that should have been used to deliver quality infrastructure.
“Whenever we look at our roads, we find that some of them are in a very bad state because the money meant for them has been eaten and exhausted. These people have even gone as far as influencing district officials, yet government has been putting in a lot of money,” Byamukama said.
He said the situation had forced President Yoweri Museveni to personally intervene and intensify the fight against corruption in the roads and transport sector.
According to Byamukama, Museveni’s intervention has resulted in the removal of several officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport and UCAA through retirement in the public interest, while investigations into alleged corruption continue.
“President Museveni came out and took the lead in fighting corruption. He introduced retirement in the public interest. We have engineers who were removed, and others from the Ministry of Works and Transport. We also have three people who were removed from the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority,” he said.
Byamukama said the officials removed from UCAA had been serving in the institution responsible for regulating civil aviation and managing key aspects of Uganda’s aviation sector.
He alleged that some of those affected had resisted the directive to hand over their offices, warning that government would take action against them if they continued refusing to comply.
“They refused to hand over office. We are going to look for them and, if necessary, have them arrested. They are moving around with sacks of money, thinking that they are going to come back,” Byamukama said.
The minister said the government’s decision to retire the officials in the public interest should not be interpreted as an end to investigations into their conduct.
He explained that the administrative action and criminal investigations were separate processes and that officials removed from office could still face arrest and prosecution if investigators established evidence of wrongdoing.
“The legal part of it is there, and the administrative part of it is there: retirement in the public interest. Go away. But the investigations continue. These people who have been retired in the public interest will still be investigated. If they are found culpable, they will be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
Byamukama singled out the Masaka-Mutukula road project, alleging that some officials were involved in a scheme that could have caused the government to lose about Shs150 billion.
He accused a former chief engineer of failing in his responsibility to advise government on problems affecting road projects and instead allegedly working with contractors to increase costs at the expense of taxpayers.
“Some of these people were involved in a scheme of stealing about Shs150 billion on the Masaka-Mutukula road. That is why the President removed the chief engineer, because he failed to advise government on the problems affecting the roads,” Byamukama said.
The minister alleged that the engineer went beyond simply failing to perform his duties and instead allegedly collaborated with contractors to support attempts to extract more money from the government.
He said the official was expected to protect the interests of government but allegedly became part of arrangements through which contractors sought to increase the cost of projects.
Byamukama said the official had allegedly become accustomed to working with particular contractors on different roads, with some of the contractors allegedly benefiting from inflated contracts while officials received personal benefits.
“Some engineers had mastered the art of stealing from government while working together with contractors. On every road, there was a contractor they worked with, and billions of shillings would be stolen,” he alleged.
The minister further claimed that some contractors went as far as constructing houses and mansions for officials in areas where they were executing government projects.
He said such properties were allegedly used to reward officials who supported contractors in manipulating government contracts.
“They would build houses for officials, even mansions, to support them in stealing government money,” Byamukama alleged.
Byamukama said corruption in the roads sector involved more than the simple theft of money, alleging that some officials deliberately supported inflated project costs and variations that increased the financial burden on government.
He said some officials allegedly worked with contractors to create circumstances in which contractors could demand additional money from government.
According to the minister, some engineers were allegedly involved in preparing or supporting inflated budgets while receiving payments or other benefits from contractors.
He said this practice had affected several roads, with some projects allegedly becoming much more expensive than their original estimates.
Byamukama cited roads around Mpigi, Mityana and other areas, saying corruption had contributed to the poor quality and high cost of infrastructure.
He also linked the alleged corruption to road projects associated with preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, saying some officials had attempted to increase the cost of projects before substantial work had even been completed.
The minister said one of the schemes involved roads whose costs were allegedly increased from about Shs5.5 billion to Shs8.5 billion.
He alleged that some officials demanded money from contractors before supporting increases in project budgets.
“They would tell the contractor, ‘Give me money and I will write and increase the budget.’ That is the scheme we are fighting,” Byamukama said.
He said such practices exposed government to unnecessary financial losses while limiting the amount of money available for other infrastructure projects.
Byamukama said President Museveni eventually intervened and removed officials whom he believed had failed to protect government interests.
He said some engineers had effectively become partners of contractors rather than supervisors responsible for ensuring that government received value for money.
The minister accused such officials of using their positions to facilitate contractors to obtain additional payments from government.
Byamukama also said the corruption problem was not confined to road construction but had also spread to the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority.
He accused some UCAA officials of using procurement processes to demand money from contractors seeking government contracts.
According to the minister, some officials allegedly demanded between five and six per cent of the value of contracts as kickbacks.
“At UCAA, these people are corrupt in advance. To get a contract, you had to pay. If the President had given you direct procurement, you would not get it unless you had paid the given percentage, whether six per cent or five per cent,” Byamukama alleged.
He said the alleged scheme involved people within procurement and contracts committees who, according to him, knew how to manipulate the process to benefit themselves.
“The contracts committee is where they play their games, and there is evidence,” he said.
Byamukama further alleged that some officials had accumulated significant wealth through the proceeds of corruption and therefore believed they were powerful enough to resist removal from office.
He said the alleged corruption had become so entrenched that some officials could influence the outcome of investigations into their conduct.
The minister also raised concerns about the handling of corruption reports, alleging that some investigations were deliberately frustrated or suppressed.
He said some reports involving billions of shillings could disappear after reaching certain officials or institutions responsible for investigating corruption.
According to Byamukama, some people within investigative structures were themselves compromised, making it difficult to pursue cases involving powerful officials.
He alleged that reports involving losses of billions of shillings were sometimes deliberately killed instead of being acted upon.
“Some people would take a report there, maybe involving Shs10 billion, and they would kill it. An investigating or reporting officer would destroy the report,” he alleged.
Byamukama said this was one of the reasons President Museveni had decided to use retirement in the public interest alongside investigations as part of the government’s response to corruption.
Byamukama said the government’s action against officials at UCAA had not been without resistance.
He alleged that some of the officials removed from office had refused to hand over their offices and continued behaving as though they would eventually return to their positions.
He warned that government would not allow dismissed officials to continue occupying public offices or interfere with ongoing investigations.
“They refused to hand over office. We are going to look for them and have them arrested. They are there moving around with sacks of money, thinking they are going to come back,” he said.
The minister said investigations would continue regardless of whether the officials had already been retired in the public interest.
Byamukama also raised concerns about the management of land acquisition and compensation for road projects.
He alleged that in some projects, land and properties presented for compensation were linked to ministry officials and workers themselves, creating potential conflicts of interest and opportunities for abuse.
He cited areas including Nakawuka, Nateete, Kyaliwajjala, Kira and Matugga in connection with allegations that land and properties affected by road projects had been associated with officials.
The minister said such arrangements could result in government paying significantly more than the actual value of affected properties.
He warned that the practice not only increases the cost of road projects but also undermines public confidence in government infrastructure programmes.
Byamukama said some contractors had accumulated enough resources from government projects to influence officials responsible for supervising and approving their work.
He alleged that contractors moved around with large amounts of money and used it to compromise anyone who attempted to question their activities.
“The thieves move with sacks of money to compromise any person who dares to question them. They even tried to compromise the minister,” Byamukama said.
He said such behaviour had made it difficult for honest officials to perform their duties because those attempting to expose wrongdoing could themselves become targets of bribery or intimidation.
Byamukama said the government’s current approach was intended to break the relationship between corrupt officials and contractors by removing officials suspected of protecting contractors at the expense of the public.
The minister said President Museveni’s intervention was necessary because some government institutions had failed to effectively deal with corruption despite receiving reports of wrongdoing.
He said Museveni had recognised that corruption could not be addressed through criminal investigations alone because some individuals accused of wrongdoing could use administrative positions and institutional connections to frustrate investigations.
According to Byamukama, the President therefore ordered the use of both administrative and criminal measures.
“President Museveni came out and said we should use the two approaches. There is the legal part and the administrative part, which is retirement in the public interest. But the investigations continue,” he said.
Byamukama said the government’s intention was not simply to remove officials from office but to ensure that those found responsible for corruption eventually face the law.
He said officials who had accumulated wealth through corruption should not assume that their removal from office would protect them from prosecution.
Byamukama said the government would continue pursuing corruption allegations in the roads and aviation sectors and would not allow individuals accused of stealing public money to return to positions of influence.
He said the ultimate objective was to ensure that public resources allocated to roads, airports and other infrastructure were used for their intended purpose.
“Retirement in the public interest does not stop investigations. These people will still be investigated, and if they are found culpable, they will be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
The minister’s allegations paint a picture of a corruption network in which some engineers, procurement officials and contractors allegedly worked together to inflate project costs, demand kickbacks and divert public resources.
He said the government would continue removing officials who failed to protect public resources while allowing investigators to pursue criminal cases against those suspected of corruption.
