Wagons Scandal Rocks Uganda Railways, Top Bosses Grilled Over Missing 394 Wagons

By Swift Reporter

The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) has been given a one-week ultimatum by Parliament to explain why hundreds of railway crossings across the country remain without protective barriers despite years of fatal accidents, as legislators intensify scrutiny over the corporation’s safety record and accountability.

The directive was issued during a sitting of Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure on July 23, 2026, where lawmakers also demanded answers over the disappearance of 394 railway wagons during the controversial Rift Valley Railways (RVR) concession.

The committee’s investigations exposed what Members of Parliament described as persistent failures in railway safety, poor asset management and inadequate accountability, even as Uganda seeks to modernize its railway infrastructure.

Appearing before the committee, URC Managing Director Benon Kajuna attributed many railway accidents to reckless behavior by motorists and pedestrians, saying many road users ignore warning signs, underestimate the speed of trains, overtake at level crossings or walk along railway tracks while distracted.

“Normally, the drivers are distracted. Sometimes they underestimate the train speeds. They think they can pass before the train, but by the time they do that, they have already knocked the train. In railway business, the train cannot be knocked; it is you who knocks the train because we have the right of way,” Kajuna told the committee.

He said the corporation plans to automate level crossings by installing boom barriers and warning systems to improve public safety.

However, legislators dismissed the explanation, arguing that public negligence does not absolve URC of its legal responsibility to provide adequate safety infrastructure.

Committee Chairperson Hon. Mwine Mpaka challenged URC to demonstrate what practical measures it had taken to secure funding for the installation of safety barriers at railway crossings.

“The next time you come here, you must prove to this committee that you have made attempts to put those barriers in place through the budget process. Other than talking about people wearing headphones, what have you done to save lives?” Mpaka asked.

He warned that if URC failed to present documentary evidence within one week, the committee would consider recommending sanctions against the corporation’s leadership.

Lawmakers noted that the Uganda Railways Corporation Act places responsibility on URC to ensure safe railway operations, including the protection of level crossings.

Mpaka questioned why the corporation had failed to install gates or barriers at accident-prone crossings in areas such as Namumira (Mukono), Nsambya, Wankoko and Kigugu, where numerous fatal crashes have been reported.

“You give us a reason why we should not recommend the Board be disbanded and the Executive Director resign. People are dying, and you cannot simply say you are waiting for money,” he said.

URC Chief Civil Engineer Isaac Natukunda acknowledged that grade-separated crossings remain the safest solution but blamed inadequate funding for the corporation’s inability to install barriers nationwide.

He estimated that each manual barrier costs approximately Shs3 million, adding that URC currently relies on railway guards to warn motorists and pedestrians at many crossings.

“We have many level crossings. Installing barriers at all of them requires a budget we currently don’t have. Even with barriers, changing people’s attitudes remains important,” Natukunda explained.

His response further angered legislators.

“A barrier costs only Shs3 million, yet people have been dying for years. Children are dying while you continue explaining that people have headphones or are listening to music. Who will be held accountable for those lives?” Mpaka asked.

Hon. James Waluswaka, the Bunyole West MP, urged URC to immediately submit a comprehensive inventory of all railway crossings together with the total funding required to install barriers.

“Just tell us the number of crossings and how much it will cost. Parliament can appropriate the money. Don’t waste time,” Waluswaka said.

The committee also turned its attention to another major concern raised in the Auditor General’s report—the disappearance of 394 railway wagons during the period when Rift Valley Railways managed Uganda’s railway network.

URC Principal Mechanical Engineer Geoffrey Sekamatte told MPs that the missing rolling stock includes 113 Uganda Railways wagons and 281 Kenya Railways wagons.

He explained that tracking the wagons became difficult after RVR migrated from a manual inventory system to a digital platform known as Translogic, with some wagons reportedly transferred to a virtual station at Nyahururu in Kenya before becoming untraceable.

The explanation left lawmakers unconvinced.

Hon. Berunado Ssebbugga-Kimeze, MP for Buyende County, questioned how assets of such magnitude could simply disappear.

“A wagon is bigger than a bus. How can something bigger than a bus disappear? Not one, not two, but 113 Ugandan wagons, and another 281 belonging to Kenya Railways. This brings Uganda into disrepute and could create diplomatic problems,” he said.

Ayivu Division East MP Hon. William Tiyo wondered whether some of the wagons could have been illegally disposed of as scrap, questioning URC’s capacity to operate as a commercially viable corporation while failing to account for its own assets.

Kajuna explained that under the Tripartite Railway Agreement involving Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, railway wagons routinely cross borders, and any wagon that remains unaccounted for beyond the agreed operational period is classified as lost, with the responsible railway administration expected to compensate the owner.

However, MPs demanded documentary evidence showing what efforts URC had made to recover the missing wagons.

When officials failed to immediately produce the required documentation, the committee temporarily suspended proceedings.

Mpaka warned that failure to provide evidence would have immediate consequences.

“Documented evidence of steps you have taken to recover these wagons. Failure to do so… we are going to arrest you immediately,” he warned.

Kajuna later recorded a statement with Parliament Police after URC officials failed to account for the missing wagons during the hearing.

URC also disclosed that it is grappling with significant financial challenges, including a cumulative funding deficit of Shs250.5 billion, an annual financing gap of Shs89 billion, and locomotive availability of only 40 to 50 percent.

The corporation appealed to Parliament to support its request for Shs99 billion in counterpart funding for the African Development Bank-financed Kampala–Malaba Metre Gauge Railway Rehabilitation Project.

Despite the financial constraints cited by URC, legislators maintained that budgetary limitations cannot justify failures in public safety, governance and asset management.

The committee is expected to review URC’s submissions before presenting its recommendations to Parliament, with the corporation now under mounting pressure to demonstrate that it is taking concrete steps to improve railway safety and recover the missing public assets.