By Aggrey Twesigye
Wwwmknewsink.com
In Mbarara—
The Minister for Local government, Balaam Barugahara, has ordered the arrest and interdiction of several Mbarara City officials over alleged financial mismanagement, abuse of office, and causing financial loss to the government.
During his visit to Mbarara city, on Tuesday Barugahara directed that the City Town Clerk, Justine Barekye, be arrested and charged with causing financial loss to the government after the city reportedly purchased one acre of land at Kikoona for UGX 300 million during the 2021/2022 financial year.
The land had been earmarked for the relocation of the Kikoona matooke market, but the minister said it is located in a wetland, making the acquisition irregular.
The minister also ordered the arrest and interdiction of the City Environment Officer, Sancho Niwagaba, accusing him of failing to provide professional guidance to the council before the land was purchased.
Barugahara further called for the interdiction of Mutaahi Donanti, the former Commercial Officer who is now the Revenue Officer for Mbarara City North, and Agaba James, the former Principal Commercial Officer currently serving in Fort Portal. He said the two officials had been arrested in 2022 over allegations of embezzling UGX 10 million under the Emyooga programme.
According to the minister, although they reportedly agreed in court to refund the money, the government has not recovered the funds.
The minister also directed that Town Clerk Justine Barekye, her deputy Simon Ejua, and former City Engineer Hillary Mugisha be arrested and interdicted over the alleged mismanagement of UGX 712 million, which he said resulted in financial loss to the government.
He said the officials should leave office to pave the way for investigations.
Barugahara further accused Barekye of authorizing an irregular payment of UGX 216 million on the construction of Col. Ndahekire Road, a project awarded to Kwed Construction Limited at a contract sum of UGX 1.59 billion.
The minister also faulted the Town Clerk for what he described as the irregular interdiction of Principal Procurement Officer Dina Mwije and the Chief Finance Officer, David, who was interdicted in November 2025 over alleged abuse of office despite guidance from the Attorney General.
He alleged that Barekye assumed responsibilities for advertising and awarding tenders instead of the Chief Finance Officer.
Addressing the meeting, Principal Procurement Officer Dina Mwije denied allegations that she had sabotaged government programmes, ignored the Town Clerk’s phone calls, or failed to display the best evaluated bidders.
\She said the State House Anti-Corruption Unit ordered her reinstatement on 9 July after finding that the allegations against her lacked merit.
Mwije further told the minister that during her absence from office, procurement files for the 2025/2026 financial year, particularly those relating to revenue sources, went missing. She added that contracts worth about UGX 2 billion could not be traced and questioned how procurement activities had been conducted without valid contracts.
The minister also cited alleged irregularities in the procurement of the Buremba–BSU Road and Victor Bwana Link road projects, which were awarded to Star Group under a contract worth UGX 5.7 billion.
He said the contract contained inconsistencies and that the Solicitor General’s approval was extended nine times, resulting in a reported loss of UGX 1.7 billion while the projects remained incomplete after the contract expired.
Barugahara directed that former City Engineer Hillary Mugisha, Procurement Officer Edgar Atwiine, and Contracts Committee Chairperson Samuel Rwakinanga be investigated and instructed them to leave office to allow investigations to proceed.
The minister also raised concerns over revenue collection, saying the city lost UGX 57.6 million from street parking within six months. He accused Town Clerk Justine Barekye and Revenue Officer Samuel Rwakinanga of operating a weak revenue collection system that allegedly caused financial loss to the government.
He further revealed that investigations had been launched into the management of revenue from the city abattoir, noting that Mbarara City reportedly receives only UGX 2.7 million despite more than 100 cattle and goats being slaughtered there daily.
Barugahara tasked the State House Anti-Corruption Unit with investigating the discrepancies and establishing where the missing revenue is going.