- Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has summoned former Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Jennifer Musisi to explain the disappearance of two weighbridges that were procured in the 2011/2012 financial year for the Kiteezi landfill.
The missing equipment, which was flagged in the Auditor General’s report, was intended to monitor the volume of solid waste delivered to the landfill. But shortly after their purchase, the weighbridges reportedly vanished and were later replaced with non-functional substitutes, severely undermining waste management operations in the city.
Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, who appeared before the committee, said the loss of the weighbridges crippled oversight efforts at the site. He also warned that the same mistakes could resurface as the city moves to procure new equipment.
“I’m deeply concerned that history may repeat itself,” Lukwago told the committee. “We saw two weighbridges disappear under mysterious circumstances in 2011/12, reportedly ending up in Rwanda. We must ensure that the current procurement of tractors and excavators doesn’t fall into similar hands.”
At the time of the procurement, Lukwago had been suspended over abuse of office allegations. Now, more than a decade later, he’s sounding the alarm about recurring gaps in procurement oversight.
Committee Chairperson Medard Sseggona (Busiro East MP) has vowed to get to the bottom of the matter.
“If we have to go international, we will consider involving Interpol to trace the missing equipment, believed to have been transported beyond Uganda’s borders,” Sseggona said
Musisi, who was the accounting officer during the procurement, is among several individuals COSASE intends to question. The committee also plans to summon the contractors involved and Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) officials who were attached to KCCA at the time.
This probe is part of Parliament’s wider effort to track down lost public assets and ensure accountability for questionable procurements that have cost Ugandan taxpayers millions.
Musisi served as the first Executive Director of KCCA from 2011 until she resigned in 2018. While she won praise for pushing through major urban reforms, her tenure was marked by clashes with political leadership and financial constraints.
Now based in the United States, Musisi is serving as the inaugural City Leader in Residence at Harvard University under the Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative.
