The findings point to operational and governance weaknesses within Uganda Railways Corporation at a time when the government is seeking to revive the national railway system. With only 269 km of the 1,266 km network reported as operational and low availability across locomotives, coaches and wagons, asset management and institutional capacity remain material constraints on railway performance.
Parliament's decision to refer several matters for investigation and require a railway-land recovery strategy moves the issue beyond audit findings into formal follow-up. The Executive is also expected to respond through a Treasury Memorandum, providing the next official step in addressing the committee's findings.
- Uganda Railways Corporation operates 269 km of its 1,266 km railway network, according to the parliamentary committee report.
- Fleet availability was reported at 22% for locomotives, 36% for passenger coaches and 30% for wagons.
- The committee identified 112 wagons that remain unaccounted for after being routed in the former Rift Valley Railways tracking system to a virtual station at Nyahururu in Kenya.
- Parliament reported that 82 scrap wagons could not be accounted for in official records, resulting in a stated financial loss of Shs2.4 billion.
- URC holds 20,848 acres of railway land, with 1,983 acres still untitled and more than 24,653 encroachment cases recorded.
- Parliament has directed the Inspectorate of Government to investigate several procurement and asset-disposal matters and ordered the preparation of a railway-land recovery strategy within 30 days.
Uganda’s Parliament has adopted a report on Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) detailing financial mismanagement, disputed procurement, missing rolling stock and extensive encroachment on railway land.
The report was presented on 3 September 2026 by the chairperson of Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure, Mwine Mpaka, and adopted during a sitting chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth.
The committee examined a Shs125 billion Spanish-funded railway project that included a Shs20.8 billion capacity-building component. It found that almost 90% of the capacity-building allocation, equivalent to €4.33 million, went to five foreign experts, with some reportedly receiving as much as €32,500 a month.
The committee also reported that some URC employees were allegedly listed as foreign experts, allowing them to access the higher payments while continuing to receive their regular local salaries.
Concerns were also raised over the procurement structure. According to the report, Spanish company Consultrans S.A.U prepared the project feasibility study and assessed URC’s capacity requirements before a works contract was subsequently awarded through direct procurement to its sister company, Imathia Construction.
Other findings included multi-day workshops that were reduced to one-day refresher courses, €79,500 claimed for overseas back-office travel and €60,000 allocated for office furniture being used to equip offices occupied by Spanish consultants. The committee also reported that second-hand pickup vehicles funded through the project were sold to staff.
URC’s management of railway assets was another focus of the investigation. The committee found that only 269 km of the corporation’s 1,266 km railway network is operational.
Fleet availability was put at 22% for locomotives, 36% for coaches and 30% for wagons.
The report also identified 112 wagons that remain unaccounted for after being routed in the former Rift Valley Railways tracking system to what was described as a “virtual station” at Nyahururu in Kenya.
Separately, URC had sold 152 wagons as scrap within Uganda and another 28 in Tanzania. The committee reported that official records could not account for 82 of the scrap wagons, resulting in a stated financial loss of Shs2.4 billion.
Railway land management was also highlighted. URC holds 20,848 acres of land, of which 1,983 acres remain untitled and are affected by more than 24,653 encroachment cases.
Mpaka told Parliament that 62 railway land titles, misplaced by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development during office relocations, had not been returned despite reminders dating back to 2016.
Following adoption of the report, Parliament directed the Inspectorate of Government to investigate members of URC’s Adhoc Board of Survey, Contracts Committee and Procurement and Disposal Unit who were implicated in the disposal of scrap wagons and the associated financial losses.
The Inspectorate was also directed to investigate former URC managing director David Musoke Bulega, contract managers and management members over matters including payments for services that were not executed, travel claims, software procurement, vehicle use and contractual terms that Parliament said resulted in URC losing ownership of a concrete sleeper plant.
The Ministries of Lands and Works and Transport were further ordered to submit a joint railway-land recovery strategy within 30 days. This is expected to include measures to remove 1,698 identified encroachers, with police and military support where required.
Minister of State for Transport Julius Maganda acknowledged the deterioration of URC but said the government was working to revive the corporation.
Speaker Oboth also called on the ministry to replace ageing passenger coaches and increase the frequency of passenger services.
The Executive is expected to respond formally to the adopted report through a Treasury Memorandum.
