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Sitakange Charles, the Assistant District Engineer for Civil Works in Mpigi District in Court
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Mpigi — Sitakange Charles, the Assistant District Engineer for Civil Works in Mpigi District, has been arraigned before the Mpigi Chief Magistrate’s Court on charges of theft of fuel meant for road maintenance under the government’s UGX 1 billion Road Maintenance Grant. Sitakange, who appeared in court on Monday, was charged following joint investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, the Criminal Investigations Directorate, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. He has been remanded until 22nd July 2025.
The allegations indicate that during the financial year 2023–2024, Sitakange and his co-accused, Kyambadde Sam — the Acting District Engineer who is still at large — stole 21,739 litres of fuel worth UGX 242 million. The fuel was meant for various road works in Mpigi Town Council under the maintenance grant.
According to investigators, the engineers inflated the fuel requirements for different projects and colluded with fuel station managers to draw excess fuel. They allegedly covered their tracks by using registration numbers of vehicles that were grounded and not in operation — including a tipper truck, Reg No. LG 0002-082, which has not been in use since 2022, yet was fraudulently used to draw fuel worth UGX 18.5 million.
They allegedly covered their tracks by using registration numbers of vehicles that were grounded and not in operation
Investigators also discovered that some vehicle registration numbers belonged to other departments or non-district vehicles that were never involved in road works. The fraudulent accounting is believed to have cost the district at least UGX 90 million in lost fuel alone. Further investigations revealed that an entire road project — the Kyansoozi–Kampiringisa–Muyiira Road — estimated at UGX 97 million, was never implemented despite reports claiming that the works were completed.
This case comes barely a month after similar charges were brought against Busia Municipal Council officials for fuel theft under the same UGX 1 billion grant. The State House Anti-Corruption Unit has confirmed that investigations into similar allegations in other local governments are ongoing, following multiple complaints about widespread misuse of the road maintenance grant.
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