Seven Rukiga District officials, including a former LCIII chairperson, have been arrested over alleged corruption and failure to account for government funds. The arrests were made during an accountability meeting convened by Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara at Rukiga District headquarters, marking the start of his anti-corruption tour of the Kigezi sub-region. Those arrested are Nicholas Kananura, the principal human resource officer; Bruce Turyamushangayo, the chief finance officer; Christopher Ndyabegyera, the district education officer; Evans Bangirana, the district water engineer; Deogratious Mutabazi, the district engineer; Richard Sajabi, the district fisheries officer; and Eddy Mugisha, the former LCIII chairperson of Rwamucucu Sub-county.
The arrests followed concerns about the management of public resources allocated to the district. Barugahara said the action was part of the nationwide Expose the Corrupt campaign, which he said was aimed at strengthening accountability and improving the delivery of government programmes. He cited alleged irregularities in procurement and road rehabilitation, including the purchase of 90 chairs at 950,000 shillings each during the third quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, handled by Paul Kangwegye Company Limited based in Kabale Municipality, against a budget provision of 995,000 shillings per chair.
The minister also alleged that 120 million shillings allocated for the rehabilitation of the Nyakanengo-Nyakasiru road during the same quarter had been misappropriated. According to Barugahara, only grading was done, yet the scope of works included spot grading, gravelling and drainage works. He questioned the rehabilitation of the five-kilometre Bukinda-Rwakijuma road, for which 110 million shillings had been released in the third quarter, saying only grading had been completed without the addition of murram. For the eight-kilometre Nyaruhanga-Kahama road, 165 million shillings was released, but Barugahara said the road remained narrow with no murram and could be washed away when it rains.
Rukiga Resident District Commissioner Zadock Kamusiime raised concerns about alleged extortion in the implementation of the Parish Development Model, a government programme intended to move households into the money economy. However, Rukiga District LC5 Chairperson Simon Mutebi Rwamagyenda described the anti-corruption campaign as politically motivated, urging Barugahara to conduct independent investigations before acting on information provided by residents, whom he said could have political motives or supply inaccurate information. The minister is expected to continue his anti-corruption tour across the Kigezi sub-region, with Kabale District scheduled as the next stop.