Museveni Suspends Engineers, Sends PS on Leave Over Sh1.3 Trillion Expressway Corruption Allegations

President Yoweri Museveni has taken decisive action against officials at the Ministry of Works and Transport, suspending three senior engineers and directing Permanent Secretary Waiswa Bageya to step down temporarily. These measures are in response to serious allegations of corruption and inflated costs associated with the Busega-Mpigi Expressway project.

The President’s directive, communicated in a letter to the Inspector General of Government, Justice Aisha Naluzze Batoro, specifically names Engineers Edwin Raymond Kiyaga, Dickens Ahimbisibwe, and Patrick Muleme as suspended pending investigations into alleged embezzlement. The funds in question are for the 23-kilometer expressway and its associated 20-kilometer access roads.

President Museveni expressed strong concern that while only 40% of the work is complete, the entire initial budget of Shs600 billion, secured from the African Development Bank (ADB), has allegedly been disbursed. This has led to the project’s costs skyrocketing to an estimated Shs1.3 trillion.

Furthermore, the President accused the suspended engineers of deliberately altering the road’s alignment to pass through land they personally own. This rerouting, he stated, necessitated fresh compensation claims, despite the original route having already been surveyed and compensated. “These thieves must be destroyed,” Museveni declared in his letter.

While Under Secretary Barbara Namugambe has been appointed acting Permanent Secretary, the investigation will be spearheaded by the Inspector General of Government, with assistance from State House Auditor General John Tumwiine. This development contrasts with earlier assessments from the Inspectorate of Government, which had previously expressed satisfaction with project explanations, though it had noted concerns about illegal developments and compensation inconsistencies.

The Ministry of Works and Transport has not yet issued a public statement regarding these allegations and suspensions. The Busega-Mpigi Expressway is a critical infrastructure project aimed at improving connectivity in central Uganda.

Source: Nile Post