Four Busia Municipality officials arrested

The State House Anti-Corruption Unit has arrested four staff members of Busia Municipality, including town clerk Fenard Katunda Mukuru.

Police confirmed the arrest and detention of officials, including Faruk Kiganda, the municipal engineer; Wycliffe Chimulwa, the town treasurer; and Aggrey Mangeni, the municipal education officer.

The officers, who remain in custody at Busia Police Station, were arrested on Sunday evening.

The arrests followed a monitoring exercise of government programmes conducted last week on Friday and Saturday by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, which was preceded by a baraza held on May 8, 2025, at Busia Border Primary School. It is alleged that sh1.5 billion allocated for roads and schools has been misappropriated by the officials.

Kiganda is reportedly accused of misusing sh1 billion earmarked for road works, while Mangeni is being held for allegedly inflating the cost of constructing a water tank and painting a classroom block at Marachi and Mawero East primary schools, respectively.

Some of the substandard works cited include the sh176 million (0.7km) Border Road, sh76 million (0.6km) Mandela Road, sh56 million (0.8km) Mandela Road, sh56 million (0.3km) Chigwe Road, and sh82 million (0.8km) Nambadu Road.

The State House Anti-Corruption Unit also sanctioned the arrest of works committee councillors, including Fatuma Maishallah, Patrick Kikomeko, Resty Oundo, and Namudia, who allegedly endorsed the shoddy works carried out on the above projects.

Background

David Oguttu, the Central ward councillor and chairperson of the works committee, wrote to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, the Inspectorate of Government and other relevant agencies, reporting that sh800 million out of a total sh1.163 billion received for road rehabilitation in the last financial year had been misused.

Oguttu further stated that road funds for the first and second quarters of the current financial year, totalling sh500 million, along with sh22 million from the Uganda Road Fund, were also stolen, affecting the roads that had been scheduled for maintenance.

He added that the engineer had been frequently changing project sites and working on roads that had already been completed in previous financial years.

“I was delighted when the State House Anti-Corruption Unit acknowledged receiving my complaint and promised to come on the ground this month,” Oguttu said.

However, he expressed disappointment after some members of his committee betrayed his efforts by certifying the substandard works carried out in the municipality.

John Mulimba, the regional cooperation state minister and MP for Samia Bugwe North, said he initiated the baraza after receiving numerous complaints from residents that funds had been allocated to some roads multiple times over different financial years, yet no actual work had been done.

What residents say

Faith Sikeeta, a resident of Mawero East village, said the government sends huge sums of money for development, but the funds are siphoned off by greedy civil servants and politicians who ignore the concerns of ordinary people. She called on authorities to ensure those arrested are prosecuted as a warning to others.

Rashid Mugisha, another resident, said that Busia severely lacks infrastructure due to corruption among technical personnel who divert public funds for personal gain, while misleading residents into believing that they are repairing the impassable roads.

Stanley Eraku, communications officer at the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, confirmed the arrests but declined to give details, saying investigations are ongoing.
At press time, the suspects remained in police custody.