MINISTER OF WORKS GETS ARUA CITY ENGINEER, PROCUREMENT OFFICER ARRESTED OVER SUBSTANDARD WOKO BRIDGE WORKS

Arua City Engineer Charles Omona and Procurement Officer Jimmy Omale, boarding police patrol car after been arrested on the orders of the minister of works and transport over Woko bridge works (All photos by Onzoma Albert)

By Onzoma Albert

Arua City

The Arua City Engineer, Charles Omona, and Procurement Officer, Jimmy Omale, have been arrested on the orders of the Minister of Works and Transport, Hon. Fred Byamukama, over mismanagement of the Woko Bridge construction project in Nyio Ward, Ayivu Division, Arua City.

The Minister visited the site earlier this morning on the invitation of Hon. Tiyo William Taylor Odaa, the Member of Parliament for Ayivu East ordering the arrest of the two city leaders. The project faced a major setback when authorities ordered the demolition of its newly constructed concrete base due to substandard workmanship.

Following inspections, Arua City Council directed the contractor to dismantle and rebuild the bridge foundation after discovering poor-quality materials and work that did not meet design standards. Approximately UGX 266 million of disbursed funds were tied to the dismantled basement works, fueling demands for accountability from local communities.

The project had previously stalled for nearly 10 months due to funding delays but resumed in July 2026.

Hon Fred Byamukama, the minister of works and transport dressed in half-jacket addressing the Arua City Leaders and the community of Nyio Ward at Woko Bridge Site.

The recent quality failure prompted the Ministry of Works and Transport to visit the site and order the arrest of the city engineer and procurement officer over lack of proper supervision and their involving in the mismanagement.

”I have been following this issue for the past one week but in the actual sense the contractors contract expired they renewed, again he failed they renewed, so for me as a young man who wants things to move in the right direction has investigated the whole matter and I am ordering the division police commander of Ayivu East to arrest the city engineer and procurement officer to go to police cells, the state house anti-corruption unity is already waiting for them at Arua Central Police Station to be transported to Kampala to resolve their issues that side” he said.

Julius Madira, who represented the community members from Nyio Ward expressed their gratitude to the Minister for his timely intervention, appreciating his efforts to resolve the situation.

“I am so happy that the city engineer and the procurement officer have finally been arrested I believe that things will be fine now, we as community members have been so much disappointed when the construction works of the bridge had stalled, at least things are getting better due the minister of works and transports visit up to the site, we are so much grateful to the minister for coming on ground to assess the whole situation for appropriate action over the matter” he said.

Arua City Procurement Officer Jimmy Omale, on the police patrol car following his arrest on the orders of the minister of works.

Meanwhile, the contractor responsible for the project is now on the run following the Minister’s visit and the arrests.

The contractor’s contract had been extended four times, with continued renewals by the procurement officer and committee despite ongoing issues.

The project involved constructing a box culvert bridge, a 2-kilometer marram road, and a community borehole in Muni Nyio Ward, with an estimated cost of UGX 700 million funded by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative related to land used for the Arua Power Substation by True Star Investments Uganda Limited.

Written by newsroom-radiopacis