By Flavia Ajok
President Museveni has revealed that his government blocked what he described as attempts by “thieves” to more than double the cost of roads being built for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), saying the alleged inflation formed part of wider corruption investigations in the Ministry of Works and Transport.
In a letter ordering the dismissal of six senior engineers and officials from the Ministry of Works and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), Museveni cited the AFCON road projects as one of several examples of alleged corruption in the infrastructure sector.
“I have been getting reports that there is massive Corruption in the Ministry of Works,” Museveni wrote.
As evidence, the President pointed to delays on several road projects and what he said was an attempt to dramatically increase the unit cost of roads being constructed for the continental football tournament.
“There are abundant examples everywhere such as the Busega-Mpigi road… the attempts by the thieves to hike the cost of the AFCON roads from Shs4 billion per km to Shs8.5 billion per km, etc etc,” Museveni wrote.
The President did not identify the officials behind the alleged attempt or explain how the increase was proposed.
However, the allegation comes amid ongoing investigations into procurement, contract management and project implementation within the Ministry of Works
Uganda won the bid to co-host the AFCON PAMOJA 2027 tournament alongside Kenya and Tanzania, with the competition scheduled for June and July 2027.
Among those dismissed by Museveni is Eng. Rogers Kisambira, the project manager overseeing several AFCON road infrastructure projects in Kampala and Hoima.
