The Managing Director of Uganda Railways Corporation (URC), Benon Kajuna, has recorded a statement with Parliament Police after failing to provide evidence on efforts to recover 394 railway wagons that went missing during the Rift Valley Railways (RVR) concession.
Kajuna and other URC officials appeared before the Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure on Thursday, 23 July 2026, chaired by Hon. Mwine Mpaka, to respond to concerns raised in the Auditor General’s report regarding the corporation’s operations, including missing wagons, railway safety and infrastructure challenges.
During the meeting, Hon. Berunado Ssebbugga-Kimeze (NRM, Buyende County) questioned URC over its failure to dispose of obsolete assets, saying the delay had denied the corporation an estimated Shs4.8 billion in revenue from dilapidated assets in Uganda and Tanzania.
He also raised concerns over weak internal controls that allowed 113 Uganda Railways wagons and 281 Kenya Railways wagons to disappear.
“A wagon is a big thing, bigger than a bus. How can something bigger than a bus just disappear? Not one, not two, but 113. And as if that is not enough, we lost 281 wagons belonging to Kenya Railways. This puts Uganda into disrepute and could cause us a diplomatic problem,” Ssebbugga-Kimeze said.
Hon. William Tiyo (NRM, Ayivu Division East) demanded accountability, questioning whether the missing wagons could have been sold as scrap.
He questioned how URC could become profitable when train operations remained limited, warning that continued poor performance could force Parliament to consider restructuring the corporation.
Responding to the concerns, Kajuna explained that railway wagons operate across Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania under a tripartite agreement that regulates the movement of rolling stock among the three countries.
He said Ugandan wagons can remain in Kenya for up to 14 days, while Kenyan wagons can remain in Uganda for seven days before penalties apply. Any wagon that remains away for more than 90 days is considered lost under the agreement.
Geoffrey Sekamatte, URC Principal Mechanical Engineer, told the committee that out of the 394 missing wagons, 113 belonged to Uganda Railways while 281 belonged to Kenya Railways.
He explained that the disappearance occurred after RVR migrated from a manual wagon management system to a digital platform known as Translogic.
Wagons that could not immediately be traced in the new system were reportedly transferred to a “virtual station” at Nyahururu in central Kenya, where they later became untraceable.
Hon. Nathan Byanyima (NRM, Bukanga North County) questioned why URC did not advise government earlier after Kenya exited the RVR concession before Uganda.
Kajuna said under the tripartite agreement, any wagon missing beyond 90 days is considered lost and the responsible railway authority is expected to compensate the owner based on the value of a new wagon.
Hon. Samuel Opio (NRM, Kole North County) demanded a complete inventory of URC wagons, including their locations in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, saying Parliament needed evidence showing that every wagon could be tracked through operational records and border documentation.
The committee directed URC officials to provide documentary evidence showing steps taken to recover the missing wagons.
Mpaka warned that failure to provide the documents would result in action against the officials.
“Documented evidence of steps you have taken to recover these wagons. Failure to do so, those who have introduced themselves, the Head of Security, the Engineer and the Executive Director, we are going to arrest you immediately,” Mpaka said.
The committee suspended the session to allow officials retrieve the required documents, after which Kajuna recorded a statement with Parliament Police since they could not provide details of the missing wagons.
Meanwhile URC has proposed installation of automated boom barriers, warning signals and other safety infrastructure at major crossings to reduce accidents.
The corporation also highlighted financial challenges, including a cumulative funding deficit of Shs250.5 billion, low locomotive availability of between 40 and 50 percent, and an Shs89 billion annual funding gap required for rehabilitation, rolling stock acquisition and operations.
URC further asked Parliament to support the release of Shs99 billion in outstanding counterpart funding for the Resettlement Action Plan under the African Development Bank-funded Kampala-Malaba Metre Gauge Railway Line Rehabilitation Project. The committee is expected to review URC’s submissions before making recommendations to the House-Ug. Parliament. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
