# Uganda's Museveni fires six engineers and officials over inflated costs in AFCON 2027 road projects > President Yoweri Museveni dismissed six senior officials from Uganda's Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority on July 21, saying contractors had tried to more than double the cost of roads being built for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and that the same corruption had delayed construction and undermined operations at Entebbe International Airport **Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-07-21 · heads: What Broke, Who Decides · 5 takes · 4 lenses · 1 regions ## Summary [Yoweri Museveni](/en/entity/yoweri-museveni), [Uganda](/en/entity/uganda)'s president, fired six senior engineers and officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) on July 21 over what he described as "massive corruption" in road projects and airport operations. In a letter to the dismissed officials, Museveni said contractors had attempted to inflate the cost of AFCON 2027 roads by more than double the planned budget, and that the same corruption had caused delays and undermined Entebbe International Airport. Uganda is hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, creating significant infrastructure obligations and associated procurement pressure. The Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama disclosed the dismissals to Parliament's infrastructure committee, where members demanded further accountability for the contractors involved. ## The split Coverage was almost entirely domestic, concentrated in Ugandan English-language outlets (Nile Post, Chimp Reports, Daily Monitor). International reporting was limited; the story was carried only by AllAfrica. The domestic framing varied: Chimp Reports focused on Museveni's personal directive and the AFCON context, while Parliament's committee coverage emphasized institutional anger at the ministry for allowing corruption to reach this scale before disclosure. There was no independent contractor or ministry response to the specific cost-inflation allegations. ## By the numbers - 6, senior officials dismissed from Works Ministry and UCAA - 2+, factor by which road project costs were allegedly inflated (Museveni's claim) - 2027, year Uganda hosts the Africa Cup of Nations ## Why it matters Uganda's AFCON hosting rights come with hard infrastructure deadlines; corruption-driven delays in road building directly threaten tournament readiness. The Entebbe Airport dimension also matters for air access to the country during a major international sporting event. Museveni's direct intervention, bypassing standard civil service disciplinary procedures, suggests the standard institutional channels were not moving fast enough. ## What to watch - Whether any contractors face separate legal proceedings or debarment from government projects - Parliamentary inquiry findings on the full scope of the cost inflation - AFCON 2027 project timeline updates and whether roads meet readiness targets ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### Africa news aggregator, sourcing Uganda parliamentary committee session where Works Minister Byamukama disclosed the dismissals - **AllAfrica (Parliament committee)** (Uganda, en) — AllAfrica reported that Uganda's Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama disclosed to Parliament's Committee on Physical Infrastructure that Museveni had dismissed six engineers over corruption in major road projects, drawing a heated committee reaction as members pressed for details on which contractors were involved. > "Tempers flared in Parliament's Committee on Physical Infrastructure after Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama revealed that President Museveni had dismissed six engineers from the ministry over alleged corruption in the implementation of major road projects." Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/202607210068.html ### Uganda's Nile Post via AllAfrica, exclusively identified the six dismissed officials and their roles - **AllAfrica (Nile Post)** (Uganda, en) — Nile Post identified the six dismissed officials as senior engineers and legal officers from the Ministry of Works and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), providing the only named account of the specific individuals removed in Museveni's purge. > "Nile Post has exclusively established the identities of the six senior officials dismissed by President Museveni in the latest anti-corruption purge targeting the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority." Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/202607210117.html ### Ugandan online outlet, obtained and reported on the text of Museveni's dismissal letter citing 'massive corruption' - **Chimp Reports** (Uganda, en) — Chimp Reports published details of Museveni's letter to the dismissed officials, in which he said the corruption had delayed road projects, inflated construction costs and undermined Entebbe International Airport operations, giving the dismissal a direct presidential imprimatur rather than routine administrative action. > "President Museveni has said he dismissed six senior officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport and the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority because of what he described as 'massive corruption' that has delayed road projects, inflated construction costs and undermined operations at Entebbe International Airport." Source: https://chimpreports.com/museveni-letter-why-i-sacked-works-ministry-ucaa-engineers-and-legal-officer/ ### unlabelled - **Chimp Reports (AFCON roads)** (Uganda, en) — Source: https://chimpreports.com/museveni-thieves-tried-to-double-cost-of-afcon-roads/ - **Daily Monitor** (Uganda, en) — Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/why-museveni-ordered-152-ucaa-staff-to-be-fired-5117276 ## Across the graph - Entities: Uganda, Yoweri Museveni --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/uganda-museveni-engineers-0721