Ugandan officials arrested in corruption and financial loss probes

Two Ugandan government officials, Nathan Negesa and Moses Bekabye, have been arrested following an investigation by the Parliamentary Committee on Physical Infrastructure. The inquiry focuses on the pricing of digital number plates under the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS). Negesa, an official in the Office of the President, could not provide a clear breakdown for the Shs714,300 fee, with a presented breakdown leaving Shs90,300 unaccounted for. Bekabye, a technical advisor at the Ministry of Finance, was arrested after admitting he had previously provided false testimony under oath regarding international benchmarking trips to China, Russia, and India.

Separately, Herbert Kiguli, the Ugandan Consul General in Mombasa, Kenya, has been arrested and remanded to Luzira Prison. The Inspectorate of Government charged the 59-year-old with abuse of office and causing a financial loss of approximately UGX 494 million to the government. The allegations stem from 2020, when Kiguli, while serving as Commissioner for Human Resource Management at the Ministry of Agriculture, allegedly signed requisitions for Bukalasa Agricultural College that were not budgeted for and lacked a valid Memorandum of Understanding.