UGANDA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —What is happening Uganda’s anti-corruption watchdog ordered Engineer Isaac Wani, the Commissioner for National Roads, suspended pending investigation over rising costs on the Busega-Mpigi Expressway, in a statement dated Friday 23 October 2026.
- —Why it matters The toll road west of Kampala is a lender-funded flagship, and its cost has more than doubled while completion keeps slipping, so the ruling shows who the state holds to account.
- —The numbers The estimated cost rose from Shs547.5 billion (about US$131 million) to about Shs1.35 trillion (about US$324 million), and physical progress stood at 47.15% in June 2026.
- —Who is who The Inspectorate of Government is Uganda’s anti-corruption body, led by Lady Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala; Bageya Waiswa is the ministry’s top civil servant, cleared in the same ruling.
- —What to watch Whether the suspension takes effect, what specific allegations the Inspectorate puts to Wani, and whether the December 2028 completion date for the expressway can hold.
- —What it means for you No US firm is named in the project, but the United States belongs to the African Development Bank, whose loans pay for much of it.
Uganda’s anti-corruption watchdog has ordered a top roads engineer suspended over a toll road’s soaring cost. It also cleared the ministry’s chief civil servant.
Uganda’s anti-corruption watchdog has ordered a top roads engineer, Isaac Wani, interdicted, which means suspended pending investigation. The Inspectorate of Government dated its statement Friday 23 October 2026, and four Ugandan outlets reported it the same day.
The same ruling cleared Bageya Waiswa, Permanent Secretary of the Works and Transport Ministry, of wrongdoing in the cost escalation. The road is the Busega-Mpigi Expressway, whose estimate rose from Shs547.5 billion (about US$131 million) to Shs1.35 trillion (about US$324 million).
Wani is the Commissioner for National Roads. Interdiction is not a finding of guilt, and no outlet reports a specific charge against him.
Conversions here use the rate of 24 October 2026, about 4,166 shillings per US$. They are rounded and may differ slightly from official conversions.
What the Inspectorate Ordered for the Roads Engineer
Inspector General of Government Naluzze Aisha Batala sent her findings to the Head of Public Service, Uganda’s most senior civil servant. The Inspectorate told that office to let Bageya resume work.
The Inspectorate directed the Permanent Secretary to interdict Wani immediately and to make interim arrangements so the roads office keeps running. Homeland Media and Sabasaba Updates say it cited Article 230(2) of the Constitution and Section 13(6) of the Inspectorate of Government Act.
Three outlets say Wani was Director of Network Planning and Engineering at the old Uganda National Roads Authority. That agency, known as UNRA, held the project when the cost-raising decisions were made.
Homeland Media says the interdiction is meant to prevent interference with the investigation. Ankole Times stresses that it does not by itself establish wrongdoing.
In Plain English
An interdiction is a formal suspension of a public officer while an inquiry runs, without a verdict. The Inspectorate of Government is Uganda’s independent anti-corruption agency, and its head can direct employers to act.
A Permanent Secretary is a ministry’s top civil servant, while the Commissioner for National Roads is a senior technical post. UNRA was the roads agency whose projects moved into the ministry in a 2024 rationalisation.
Why Bageya Was Cleared
Works Minister Fred Byamukama told Parliament’s infrastructure committee on Monday 20 July 2026 that Bageya had been interdicted, New Vision reported. Sabasaba Updates says President Yoweri Museveni ordered him to step aside in June 2026.
The Inspectorate now says Bageya was not involved in the earlier decisions that raised costs. Three outlets say he started technical audits, funding approval and procurement after the project moved to the ministry in 2024.
The four outlets say the findings clear him to resume work. No report found carries a response from Bageya or Wani.
How the Expressway Costs Climbed
The Busega-Mpigi Expressway is a 23.7 kilometre toll road west of Kampala. It is meant to ease traffic on the Kampala-Masaka highway and open trade links to Rwanda, DR Congo and Tanzania.
Red Pepper reports that the construction contract was signed on Tuesday 18 June 2019 for Shs547.5 billion (about US$131 million). Red Pepper and Homeland Media say the Auditor General found it was signed before adequate designs and cost estimates were ready.
The estimate reached Shs1.35 trillion (about US$324 million) by March 2023, according to Red Pepper. Red Pepper cites Works Minister Fred Byamukama on a final bill that could near Shs2 trillion (about US$480 million).
That would include about Shs700 billion (about US$168 million) for an interchange at Busega, and it remains an estimate. New Vision reported on 21 July that physical progress was 47.15% by June 2026.
The minister told MPs the December 2028 completion date may not be met. Dividing Shs1.35 trillion by 23.7 kilometres gives roughly US$14 million per kilometre.
That is simple arithmetic, not an official figure. The bank’s plan, reported by allAfrica, gives the upgraded length as 27.3 kilometres.
Who Is Paying for the Road
The African Development Bank, owned by member governments from Africa and beyond, finances the project, and Uganda adds its own money. New Vision reported that China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation is the contractor.
On Tuesday 28 October 2025 Parliament approved extra loans of €188.18 million (about US$211 million) from the bank. It also approved €28.31 million (about US$32 million) from the African Development Fund, the bank’s concessional arm for poorer members.
Legislator Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi asked MPs what justification there was to build a kilometre at US$14 million, Parliament’s news page records. Then Works Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala replied that the design adds auxiliary roads, a Kyengera interchange, four toll gates and bridges.
What Else Is Under Investigation
The wider inquiry has several strands, and no source reviewed reports a finding against a named official. The Observer reported on 14 July that President Museveni alleged some officials changed the road’s alignment to avoid land already compensated.
No source ties that allegation to Wani or Bageya. On 20 July Museveni ordered six officials dismissed, and Nile Post’s list of the six names neither man.
New Vision says Wani told MPs work stalled as the contractor went unpaid under UNRA and the first loan ran out. He said new rules make each officer who approves a design change sign for that role.
What It Means for US Readers
No source names a US company or agency in the project, so there is no direct US exposure to the ruling. The United States is a member of the African Development Bank, a Congressional Research Service report says.
Travellers and exporters who rely on the western approach to Kampala face slow traffic until the road opens. How the bank’s money is policed also matters to US investors weighing lender-backed projects in Uganda.
What Is Not Known
The Inspectorate’s statement is not on its website, so the account rests on four Ugandan outlets relaying it. No report from Monitor, New Vision or Nile Post on the ruling had been found at the time of writing.
No outlet gives the specific allegations against Wani, his reply, or whether the interdiction has taken effect. No report says how much money, if any, was lost.
Sources differ on completion: the ministry says December 2028, while the bank’s plan ends construction in December 2029. Chimp Reports carries the same headline, but its page could not be opened.
What Comes Next
The Permanent Secretary must now put interim arrangements in place at the roads office. The Inspectorate’s investigation of Wani continues, and no date for its findings has been given.
MPs on the infrastructure committee asked for earlier design and consultant payment records before their own inquiry ends. A later step could be disciplinary or criminal action, which the Inspectorate said in July its findings would guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who ordered the suspension and why?
Uganda’s Inspectorate of Government ordered Engineer Isaac Wani interdicted pending investigation over his alleged role in the expressway’s cost escalation. It is not a finding of guilt.
Who was cleared?
Bageya Waiswa, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works and Transport, was cleared of wrongdoing in the cost escalation. The Inspectorate says he was not involved in the earlier decisions.
What is the Busega-Mpigi Expressway?
It is a 23.7 kilometre toll road west of Kampala meant to ease traffic on the Kampala-Masaka highway. Its estimated cost is about Shs1.35 trillion (about US$324 million).
Who finances the expressway?
The African Development Bank and its African Development Fund provide loans, and Uganda’s government adds funds. In October 2025 Parliament approved extra loans worth about US$243 million.
When will the road be finished?
The ministry now expects December 2028, but the minister told MPs that date may not hold. An allAfrica report says the bank’s plan ends construction in December 2029.
Sources: Red Pepper, 23 October 2026; Ankole Times, 23 October 2026; Homeland Media, 23 October 2026; Sabasaba Updates, 23 October 2026; New Vision, 21 July 2026; Nile Post, 20 July 2026; The Observer, 14 July 2026; Parliament of Uganda, 29 October 2025; allAfrica, 7 November 2025; The Independent via allAfrica, 28 July 2026; Congressional Research Service, African Development Bank Group; exchange rates from open.er-api.com, 24 October 2026 (all accessed 24 October 2026).