Butambala District is at the center of a deepening corruption scandal after four senior district officials were arraigned before the Chief Magistrate’s Court on charges of theft and conspiracy to defraud, in connection with the misappropriation of over 80,000 litres of fuel intended for road maintenance works.
The joint operation by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit the Criminal Investigations Directorate, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, led to the arrest and subsequent remand of Jesca Naigembe, Acting district engineer, Joseph Wandera, CFO, Fred Muwaga, the internal auditor and Charles Mukalazi Kizito, the district driver.
The accused were remanded to prison until July 28, 2025, as investigations continue into the disappearance of fuel worth UGX 431,447,400 meant for road works under the UGX 1 Billion Road Maintenance Grant for the financial year 2023–2024.
Authorities have also issued an arrest warrant for Kayinga Geoffrey, the Acting District Water Officer, who remains at large and is believed to have played a central role in the scam.
According to the prosecution, between April and June 2024, Naigembe and Kayinga allegedly inflated the fuel requirements for various road maintenance projects and then diverted large quantities of the fuel for personal gain or to private individuals unconnected to the official works.
The scam was reportedly sustained by colluding with fuel station managers to falsify accountability records, claiming fuel was issued to drivers in the Works Department—claims which the drivers later denied.
Further complicity is attributed to Wandera and Muwaga, who are accused of turning a blind eye to the fraudulent transactions.
As the Chief Finance Officer and Internal Auditor, respectively, both had oversight roles but allegedly failed to act, instead benefiting from the misuse of public resources.
The case has drawn public outrage and renewed calls for stricter monitoring of public funds, especially those allocated for infrastructure projects in local governments.
Investigations are ongoing, and more arrests are expected as the State intensifies its crackdown on corruption in public offices.
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