President Yoweri Museveni has wielded the axe on six senior engineers and a legal officer attached to the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) in one of the biggest shake-ups to hit Uganda’s infrastructure sector in recent years.
The dismissals come after the President accused the officials of presiding over corruption, abuse of office, inflated project costs and deliberate delays that have cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of shillings while crippling strategic national infrastructure projects.
Among those dismissed are the Engineer-in-Chief, the Director of Airports, senior project managers overseeing major highway projects, including the Masaka–Mutukula road, engineers involved in preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and a senior legal officer.
The dramatic action follows months of investigations into allegations that officials manipulated road alignments, approved questionable compensation claims and supervised projects whose costs ballooned far beyond their original budgets.
Museveni cites corruption and abuse of office
According to the President’s communication, the dismissals are intended to restore integrity in the management of public infrastructure and stop what he described as “wanton theft of taxpayers’ money.”
The most serious accusation concerns the Busega–Mpigi Expressway, where Museveni alleges that three senior engineers deliberately altered the approved road alignment to benefit themselves.
Instead of following the original route, for which government had already compensated affected landowners, the officials allegedly diverted the highway through land they privately owned.The change forced government to launch another expensive compensation exercise, resulting in billions of shillings in additional payouts.
The President says the alleged manipulation significantly contributed to the project’s cost escalating from about Shs600 billion to nearly Shs1.3 trillion despite only about 40 percent of the work having been completed.
Investigators are now examining who approved the changes, who benefited financially and whether criminal charges should follow.
Works minister defends President’s action
Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama, has repeatedly warned that corruption within the engineering profession was undermining government projects and consuming enormous public resources.
Byamukama has argued that infrastructure projects were becoming unnecessarily expensive because of dishonest officials who manipulated designs, inflated quantities and supervised poor-quality work.
He recently revealed that government had discovered instances where engineering decisions had caused taxpayers to lose hundreds of billions of shillings.According to the minister, the President’s intervention demonstrates government’s determination to restore professionalism and accountability within the sector.
Byamukama has maintained that engineers entrusted with public projects must put national interest above personal enrichment.He has also insisted that value for money remains central to government’s infrastructure programme, warning that officials found abusing their offices would face disciplinary action.
Questions over AFCON projects
Some of the dismissed officials had been involved in projects linked to Uganda’s preparations to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Kenya and Tanzania.
Government has committed enormous resources towards upgrading roads, airports and other transport infrastructure ahead of the continental football tournament.
The President reportedly became increasingly concerned about delays affecting several strategic projects whose completion timelines appeared to be slipping despite substantial financial commitments.
Officials have also faced questions over procurement processes and contract management involving some of the AFCON-related infrastructure works.Government fears that continued delays could undermine Uganda’s readiness to host the prestigious tournament.
Entebbe Airport under scrutiny
The purge also extended to officials at the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, where the Director of Airports and a senior legal officer were relieved of their duties.
Although authorities have not publicly disclosed every allegation, investigations reportedly focus on procurement decisions, contract management and implementation of infrastructure projects at Entebbe International Airport.
The airport has undergone extensive expansion works financed through significant government investment and external financing aimed at increasing passenger handling capacity and modernising facilities.
However, concerns have persisted over project implementation, delays and management decisions surrounding some of the upgrades.The President believes stronger accountability is necessary to safeguard strategic national assets.
Public welcomes anti-corruption drive
The dismissals have generated widespread debate among Ugandans, with many welcoming the President’s decision while calling for criminal prosecutions where wrongdoing is established.Political analyst and anti-corruption campaigners argue that dismissing public officials should only mark the beginning of broader accountability measures.
Several public commentators have noted that infrastructure corruption directly affects ordinary citizens through delayed road projects, increased transport costs and poor service delivery.Others have urged investigators to recover any public funds found to have been lost through fraudulent compensation or inflated contracts.
On social media, many Ugandans praised the move as a necessary warning to public servants managing billion-shilling government projects.Some, however, questioned whether similar action would be taken against politicians and other senior officials implicated in corruption.
Background to the crackdown
The dismissals follow growing concern within government over the rising cost of Uganda’s infrastructure programme.Over the past decade, government has invested trillions of shillings in highways, bridges, airports and other strategic transport projects intended to stimulate economic growth and regional trade.
However, several flagship projects have experienced substantial cost overruns, repeated contract variations and missed completion deadlines.The Busega–Mpigi Expressway has become one of the most controversial examples.
Originally presented as a major intervention to ease congestion along the Kampala–Masaka highway, the project has suffered repeated delays and escalating costs that attracted scrutiny from both State House and Parliament.
President Museveni has increasingly criticised what he describes as technical officers who manipulate government projects for personal financial gain.His concerns intensified after reports emerged that road alignments had allegedly been altered without proper justification, triggering fresh compensation obligations and dramatically increasing project expenditure.
The President has repeatedly argued that corruption within technical departments poses one of the biggest threats to Uganda’s development agenda because infrastructure projects consume vast amounts of public resources.
Investigations continue
Government sources indicate that investigations into the affected projects are far from over.Auditors, investigators and anti-corruption agencies are expected to examine procurement records, compensation payments, engineering approvals and contract variations associated with several ongoing infrastructure projects.
Officials found criminally liable could face prosecution for abuse of office, causing financial loss, fraud or corruption-related offences.
Authorities are also expected to review governance systems within both the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority to strengthen oversight and reduce opportunities for abuse.
A warning to public servants
The sweeping dismissals send one of the strongest signals yet that President Museveni intends to tighten supervision of Uganda’s multi-trillion-shilling infrastructure programme.
With major national projects, including AFCON preparations, strategic highways and airport expansion works underway, government appears determined to ensure public resources are protected from misuse.
Whether the dismissals ultimately translate into successful prosecutions and recovery of lost public funds will depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigations.For now, however, the President’s decision has sent a clear message across the public service: technical expertise will no longer shield officials accused of manipulating projects at the expense of taxpayers, and accountability will increasingly become central to Uganda’s infrastructure development.
Fired Officials Identified
The officials dismissed by President Museveni include six senior engineers and one legal officer from the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA). They are:
Eng. Ronald Twesigye – Engineer-in-Chief, Ministry of Works and Transport.
Eng. Ayoub Soma – Senior Engineer.
Hellen Wenene Mary – Senior Legal Officer.
Eng. Ronald Olaki – Senior Engineer and Project Manager.
Eng. Steven Kitonsa – Senior Engineer.
Eng. Rogers Kisambira – Senior Engineer and Project Manager.
The officials are accused of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and alleged involvementin irregular decisions that inflated the costs of major infrastructure projects, including the Busega–Mpigi Expressway. President Museveni also faulted some of the engineers for allegedly altering the road alignment to pass through land in which they had personal interests, forcing government to pay fresh compensation and significantly increasing the project’s cost.
The dismissals form part of a wider anti-corruption crackdown within the infrastructure sector as investigations continue into road, airport and AFCON 2027-related projects. Authorities are expected to determine whether criminal charges and recovery of public funds will follow.
Investigators are now examining who approved the changes, who benefited financially and whether criminal charges. should follow He recently revealed that government had discovered instances where engineering decisions had caused taxpayers to lose hundreds of billions of shillings.
According to the minister, the President’s intervention demonstrates government’s determination to restore professionalism and accountability within the sector.Byamukama has maintained that engineers entrusted with public projects must put national interest above personal enrichment.
He has also insisted that value for money remains central to government’s infrastructure programme, warning that officials found abusing their offices would face disciplinary action.
By Stephen Muwambi
Author Profile
- Mr. Stephen Kasozi Muwambi is a seasoned crime investigative writer, majoring in judicial-based stories. His two decades’ experience as a senior investigative journalist has made him one of the best to reckon on in Uganda. He can also be reached via [email protected]
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