Parliament Orders URC Boss to Face CID Over ‘Vanished’ Wagons

In a dramatic escalation of oversight, Parliament has ordered the Managing Director of the Uganda Railways Corporation to record a statement with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) over the mysterious disappearance of 394 railway wagons jointly valued at approximately UGX 220.8 billion.

The directive, issued on July 23, 2026, follows deepening frustration with accountability in a strategic state corporation central to regional trade and the Northern Corridor’s efficiency.

The Physical Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Mwine Mpaka, issued the order after URC officials failed to provide a convincing account during a tense meeting. Mpaka issued a one-hour ultimatum for documentation on joint tracing efforts with Kenya; a quick review found no resolution or acknowledgment from the Kenyan side that it held Ugandan wagons.

“The assumption is they are in Kenya, but there is also an assumption that some are sold in Uganda,” Mpaka stated. “The Managing Director is going to go and record a statement at police, and if he does not provide evidence within a week, the next time he reports, then we shall officially open the fire regarding the disappearance of the wagons.”

The controversy erupted from findings in the Auditor General’s December 2025 report, which exposed serious lapses in asset control and verification at URC. As of November 2024, 131 URC wagons could not be physically traced, with only 18 later located, leaving 113 missing.

For the Kenya Railways Corporation, all 281 wagons under URC custody remain unaccounted for, bringing the total missing to 394 after recoveries. Eng. Ssebbugga Kimeze, Budyebo County MP painted a diplomatic and reputational risk: “As if that is not enough, we actually lost 281 wagons for the Kenyan railways. Property belonging to a neighbouring country goes missing here. In fact, it is stolen by our own thieves here. This is going to cause us a diplomatic problem one of these days.”

Batooro County MP Emmanuel Ilukol painfully noted that each wagon costs around US$150,000. For even a fraction of the losses, the bill runs into tens of billions of shillings ultimately borne by taxpayers. He urged involving the State House Anti-Corruption Unit: “It seems we are taking it lightly. Up to when must we burden the taxpayer for acts of people that are not accountable to their jobs?”

Benon Kajuna, who assumed the role of URC Managing Director in early 2025, told the committee that wagon verification is inherently complex and ongoing. He cited joint committees with Kenya, regular meetings, and documentary evidence of bilateral efforts aimed at an “amicable solution.”

MPs were not convinced. Samuel Opio (Kole North) pressed: “We don’t know whether they were stolen, we don’t know whether they have been sold, we don’t know whether they are in Kenya. Wagons cannot just be stated to have disappeared. They are supposed to have wagon numbers, identification numbers, traceability of their locations.”

Railway wagons are the lifeblood of landlocked Uganda’s import-export chain, moving goods along the metre-gauge line shared with Kenya. Chronic underinvestment, ageing infrastructure, and competition from road transport have long plagued URC, making asset management critical.

The disappearances highlight potential weaknesses in inventory controls, security at sidings and yards, and cross-border asset protocols under the East African Community framework.

The Public Finance Management Act, 2015 (as amended) mandates prudent asset stewardship, timely reporting, and sanctions for losses due to negligence or malfeasance. The Auditor General’s mandate under the Constitution empowers independent scrutiny, with findings routinely feeding into parliamentary accountability.

Anti-corruption laws, including those enforced by the Inspectorate of Government and CID, apply directly to such losses of public property. Kenya and Uganda have historically managed shared rolling stock through agreements; unresolved discrepancies risk straining ties and disrupting the Northern Corridor, which handles a significant portion of Uganda’s trade.