The Assistant District Engineer for Civil Works in Mpigi DistrictCharles Sitakange , was on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, arraigned before the Mpigi Chief Magistrate’s Court over the alleged theft of 21,739 liters of fuel valued at UGX 242 million.
The fuel was allocated under the UGX 1 billion Road Maintenance Grant for the 2023–2024 financial year.
Charles Sitakange is accused of conspiring with Sam Kyambadde, the Acting District Engineer who is currently on the run, to inflate fuel requirements for various road projects.
Investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SH-ACU), in collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), revealed that the duo colluded with fuel station managers to fraudulently withdraw excess fuel.
“To conceal the theft, they allegedly used registration numbers of grounded or unrelated vehicles. For instance, UGX 18.5 million worth of fuel was attributed to a tipper truck that has been out of service since 2022,” SH-ACU said in a statement.
Further inquiry uncovered that UGX 97 million earmarked for the Kyansoozi–Kampiringisa–Muyiira Road project was misappropriated, with no actual work done despite official records indicating completion.
This case follows a similar fuel theft scandal last month in Busia District and is part of a wider crackdown on local government corruption related to misuse of the 1 Billion Grant.
Sitakange has been remanded until July 22, 2025, as the search for Kyambadde continues.
