Nabbanja orders arrest of four district officials over road funds

The Prime Minister, Ms Robinah Nabbanja has ordered for the arrest of four district officials over failure to account for money meant for road maintenance under the Uganda Road Fund.

The officials, currently detained at Mpigi Police Station include; Moses Kanyarutokye, the Mpigi District Chief Administrative Officer, Joseph Sekalega, Mpigi District former acting engineer, Samuel Kyambadde, Mpigi District engineer and Herbert Mutyaba, the Gomba District engineer.

Mr Kanyarutokye and Mr Sekalega were arrested for reportedly giving false information that they worked on Soweto-Namirembe Road (2km) and Kase-Kafene Road in Kayabwe Town, contrary to what Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi stated in his report.

According to Mr Magyezi, the Kase-Kafene Road (1km) was reportedly repaired by Mawokota South legislator, Mr Yusuf Nsibambi, not the government.

Even the Soweto –Namirembe Road, which was reportedly rehabilitated, Nabbanja’s team found out that it was shoddily done and is currently in a very sorry state.

“They [technical officials] claim to have used Shs18m on the road is about 2km, but according to our assessment, the state in which the road is currently, even Shs 5m was not spent,” Ms Nabbanja told a meeting at Mpigi Police playground while monitoring government projects in the districts of Greater Mpigi on Saturday.

“It is quite unfortunate that officials who are directly responsible for implementing government projects cannot ably explain how funds disbursed to their districts are utilized. Let the officials sleep in police cells until Monday when I will again look into their issues,” she ordered.

When contacted by Ms Nabbanja, Mr Nsibambi confirmed that he fixed the road without any help from the government. 

According to Mr Godfrey Kiviiri, the Gomba District chairperson, Mr Mutyaba’s troubles stem from his decision to chair the district works committee meetings, which could ideally be the role of the committee chairperson who happens to be one of the area legislators.

"As a district, we lack a substantive chairperson for works committee and Mr Mutyaba assumed the role of the works committee chairperson, which is wrong. But he did not misappropriate funds as it has been portrayed,” he said.

Mr Godfrey Ssaazi, the Gomba East MP lauded the Prime Minister for following up on government projects in the area, saying the move would help wake up “sleeping civil servants”.

"Those people took the oath to serve in those positions, but they do things as they wish. I hope what has happened in Mpigi today will serve as an example to other civil servants," he said.