By Spy Uganda
In yet another blow to local government accountability, Kyambadde Sam, the Acting District Engineer for Works in Mpigi District, has been remanded to prison over allegations of stealing thousands of litres of fuel meant for road maintenance under the UGX 1 Billion Road Maintenance Grant.
Kyambadde was arraigned before the Mpigi Chief Magistrate’s Court today by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU), working alongside the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). He faces charges of theft related to the fraudulent diversion of 21,739 litres of fuel valued at UGX 242,022,500.
The embattled engineer now joins his co-accused, Sitakange Charles, in the dock. The duo is accused of orchestrating an elaborate fuel theft scheme during the 2023–2024 financial year in the Mpigi Town Council.
According to prosecutors, the engineers inflated fuel estimates for various road maintenance projects, then colluded with fuel station managers to extract the surplus fuel. To conceal the theft, the fuel was falsely accounted for under registration numbers of grounded vehicles, including Tipper Truck Reg. No. LG 0002-082, which has reportedly been out of operation since 2022. That vehicle alone was used to fraudulently draw fuel worth UGX 18.5 million.
In addition, vehicles from other departments—and in some cases, vehicles not owned by the district at all—were used in fabricated records to justify the stolen fuel, causing a further loss of UGX 90 million.
Investigations also uncovered that the Kyansoozi–Kampiringisa–Muyiira Road, which was budgeted at UGX 97 million, was never worked on, despite official reports claiming it had been completed. The entire sum allocated for this road project is believed to have been embezzled.
This high-profile arrest is part of a broader crackdown on the misuse of the UGX 1 Billion Road Maintenance Grant, following numerous complaints of mismanagement in various districts. Just last month, officials in Busia Municipal Council were charged with similar offenses involving fuel theft.
Authorities have confirmed that investigations into other local governments are ongoing as part of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit’s intensified scrutiny of the grant.
Kyambadde has been remanded until August 5, 2025, pending further hearings.
A spokesperson for the Anti-Corruption Unit emphasized that these cases mark a zero-tolerance approach to corruption in public service:
“The abuse of public resources undermines service delivery and erodes public trust. We are determined to bring all perpetrators to justice, no matter their rank.”
