Lukwago revives corruption allegations at KCCA amid Museveni’s anti-graft drive

1 June 2026, 9:44 am

By Ronald Ssemagonja

During his inaugural speech to lead Uganda for a seventh elective term, Gen. (Rtd) Yoweri Museveni said that his government would not tolerate corruption and laziness. This message was reflected in the slogan that was later adopted. When the “Kisanja: No More Sleep and Corruption” campaign officially began last month, various investigations were launched against different government officials.

However, members of the public have suggested that the investigations should extend across all government entities, including Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). It is against this background that we remind you of what the immediate former Lord Mayor of Kampala, Ssalongo Erias Lukwago, said during his final speech in office concerning alleged irregularities at City Hall, where he served for 15 years.

“By the time I assumed office, City Hall carried the ignominious title of a ‘den of thieves’. Throughout my tenure, I spared no effort in institutionalising mechanisms to guarantee accountable governance and administration and to stamp out this cancer, which is systemic and pervasive in all government agencies,” Lukwago said.

Lukwago further stated that corruption negatively affected the transformation of the city. According to him, some of the major corruption-related concerns included the UGX 43 billion Usafi Market transaction of 2013–2014 and the USD 100 million Kisenyi land purchase in January 2023.

“Notwithstanding the fact that the corruption perception index in KCCA slightly improved compared to the ugly image inherited from the defunct KCC, this vice has regrettably injured and affected the city transformation caravan. The most egregious corruption practices included inflated costs of civil works, the 2011/2012 theft of Kiteezi weighbridges and costly waste management operations, abhorrent illegal conversion of public land into private property, and a litany of fraudulent transactions involving fictitious litigation and other shady deals leading to the haemorrhage of resources and the freezing of our accounts,” he added.

It should be noted that Auditor General reports have consistently criticised KCCA’s financial management, citing a pattern of poor audit opinions and financial irregularities since the authority’s inception in 2011. However, the reports indicate that KCCA received a clean audit opinion in the 2013/2014 financial year.

“The IGG reports for the 2023/2024 period singled out KCCA as one of the most corrupt local government authorities and the third most corrupt public entity in the country in previous biannual reports to Parliament. The IGG further undertook to establish a special unit to handle improprieties within the institution,” Lukwago emphasised.