The head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) Col.   Edith Nakalema has handed over government road construction equipment recovered from a private farm back to the ministry of works and transport.

The equipment, worth over sh1.5b had been given to Hoima district by the government but the district officials, led by the LC5 chairman, Kadir Kirungi allegedly hired the machines to an Indian investor in Kigumba Town Council in Kiryandongo.  

Nakalema, who learnt about the developments through a ‘whistle blower’ directed the police in the area to follow up the matter and they were recovered from the farm.

The road equipment belonging to Hoima district that was recently recovered by the police from a private farm in Kiryandongo

Last Thursday, she led a team from Kampala, including two permanent secretaries, Bageya Waiswa of the ministry of  works and transport and Ben Kumumanya of local government to sensitize local leaders about the government facilities. The meeting took place at Kadukutu Trading Centre in Kiryandongo district.    

There was drama, however, when Nakalema asked Kirungi to leave the meeting, wondering who had invited him to attend her meeting yet he was still a subject of investigation. 

After the machines, which included a Sakai SU520D series vibrio roller worth over sh500m and a Komatsu motor grader worth over sh1b were recovered by the police, investigators from SHACU commended investigations and arrested Kirungi and three members of his executive.

Nakalema and Waiswa Bageya, the PS ministry of works inspecting the grounded machines in Kiryandongo

They included Benson Chiche, James Mugenyi Mulindambura, and Geoffrey Kumakech. They were charged in court before the Hoima chief Magistrate, James Opio on three counts of forgery, utterance of false documents, and conspiracy to commit a felony. The magistrate however released them on bail.  

 “I want the Hoima LC5 chairman to leave our meeting, I cannot allow a person who caused all these problems to attend my ‘rescue meeting’, he is here and I want him to immediately leave,” she announced.

The meeting was attended by Tony Ondoga, the District Police Commander, Kiryandongo, the RDC Geoffrey Mucunguzi, and other leaders and technical staff.

Nakalema said in 2017, President Yoweri Museveni commissioned over 1,000 multibillion district road construction equipment procured from Japan. They were handed over to 121 districts and each received a motor grader, wheel-loader, vibrio roller, water bowser, and two dump trucks, each unit valued at sh2.7 billion. The equipment was purchased using a loan acquired from the Japan Bank for International Development Cooperation.    

 She applauded the area police that acted swiftly and recovered the equipment.   

The DPC was later asked to hand over the keys to Bageya who had organized transport to take the machines back to Kampala for servicing. It was not yet clear whether they will be taken back to Hoima.  

Bageya said that in addition, the government procured more equipment for the 13 new districts that had not been budgeted for and two others that were created after. He said some districts were bigger and would get additional road equipment when funds are availed and pledged that the municipalities would also be given some equipment.  

District and other leaders who attended the meeting in Kiryandongo

 He regretted that the ministry had noted with concern that some equipment had been overused and misused yet they take a lot of money to service. He promised that in the next quarter, the ministry would be sending their technicians to service the equipment at the respective districts.