Scandalous!!: How KCCA’s Multimillion Weighbridges Were Stolen & Sold To Rwanda

By Our Reporter

The Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE) has been told that former Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) officials allegedly stole weighbridges from the Kiteezi landfill and sold them to Rwanda in 2012.

The revelation was made by Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago during COSASE’s scrutiny of the Auditor General’s December 2024 report, which flagged inadequate equipment and staffing for waste management at KCCA.

According to the Auditor General, Edward Akol, KCCA spent over UGX 3.7 billion hiring garbage collection equipment—just UGX 800 million shy of the UGX 4.5 billion needed to purchase its own machinery. Public Accounts Committee Chairperson Medard Sseggona questioned why KCCA had not negotiated with service providers to buy equipment instead of hiring it.

Lukwago rejected the idea, pointing to historical incidents of theft. “I have the Auditor General’s 2011/2012 report, which indicated that a weighbridge at Kiteezi was stolen by KCCA officials and taken to Rwanda,” he said. “The problem with purchasing equipment is that it risks being stolen, as happened with these weighbridges.”

The Auditor General’s report also documented a 2012 case in which a brand-new weighbridge was stolen and replaced with an old, dysfunctional one. More than a decade later, Kiteezi still has no functional weighbridge to measure garbage quantities, and efforts to recover the stolen equipment have stalled.

When questioned on the status of investigations, KCCA Director of Legal Services Frank Rusa said the matter was still under police probe. “Last year, during a strategic planning retreat, the Lord Mayor raised the issue of the weighbridges stolen 13 years ago, allegedly by KCCA staff. I committed to following up with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID). The investigation is ongoing, but I don’t have the latest update,” Rusa said.

Workers’ MP Charles Bakkabulindi demanded that the names of implicated officials be revealed to expedite the probe. “The Lord Mayor says equipment will be stolen again, and you know the people who took the weighbridges to Rwanda. Why not mention their names so we can move forward?” he asked.

Lukwago responded that naming suspects was beyond his mandate. The lack of progress on the case has heightened concerns over accountability and the security of public assets at KCCA. COSASE has vowed to continue its investigations into the matter.