Uganda minister orders arrest of Masaka city clerk over stalled Shs14bn headquarters
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Masaka City town clerk Uthman Ssebaduka was detained after the state minister for local government found construction work continuing at the city's Shs14 billion headquarters despite a ministry freeze.
Police in Masaka City detained town clerk Uthman Ssebaduka on Tuesday on the orders of State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere, after she found civil works continuing at the site of the city's new Shs14 billion headquarters despite a ministry directive to halt them.
The arrest followed an impromptu inspection of the construction site at Kitabiro-Kizungu. The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Ben Kumumanya, had earlier ordered local authorities to stop all ongoing works on the project, according to the minister.
Ssebaduka, who was recently posted to the city, told the minister he was unaware of any executive order or documentation halting the project. Nameere said preliminary ministry investigations corroborated whistleblower reports that the contractor, Hanan Construction Company Limited, lacked the technical and financial capacity to deliver the work but was awarded the contract anyway.
"We cannot just sit back and watch; this is taxpayers' money and we have to follow up," Nameere said, adding that the ministry is preparing a Cabinet paper to change how local government infrastructure projects are procured and delivered.
The project is meant to give Masaka a functional council hall for the first time since the original structure was destroyed during the 1979 liberation war. The former municipal council allocated land for a replacement in 2011, and administration has since been scattered across temporary buildings along Edward Avenue and Elgin Street. Masaka was elevated to city status on 1 July 2020.
Ssebaduka remained in custody at Masaka Central Police Station on Wednesday morning as detectives continued investigations.