A wave of anxiety has swept through district offices in the West Nile sub-region after the Minister of Works and Transport, Fred Byamukama, issued a blunt ultimatum regarding the misuse of Shs1 billion allocated for community access roads. Speaking during an inspection tour in Yumbe District on September 18, 2026, the minister warned that engineers and political leaders found to have diverted the funds would face immediate arrest and prosecution.
“I will come back next month to visit the district roads to see whether the Shs1 Billion has been put to right use to work on the village and subcounty roads,” Byamukama stated. “If I find they have eaten the money, I will arrest those engineers and the political leaders. The money was meant for roads and must be used for the purpose for which it was allocated. The officials will vomit the money if they have eaten it.”
The minister’s warning was not merely rhetorical. During his tour, he ordered the arrest of two Arua City officials—city engineer Charles Omona and procurement officer Jimmy Omale—over the stalled Woko Bridge project in Nyio village. The bridge, launched three years ago, has seen no progress despite Shs266 million being spent. Byamukama expressed frustration that the funds had been depleted with nothing to show on the ground.
The crackdown has elicited mixed reactions from local leaders. Koboko District chairperson Ashraf Mambo defended his district’s financial management, clarifying that politicians do not handle money directly and that the Shs1 billion was not exclusively for roadworks, with portions allocated to equipment repair. However, Terego District chairperson Wilfred Saka revealed a troubling discrepancy, stating that Shs47 million earmarked for road equipment consumables had vanished without any supplies being delivered. Saka called for the full force of the law to be applied to anyone found guilty, signaling that the minister’s promised crackdown may uncover deeper systemic issues in the region’s road sector.