SPOTLIGHT: Uganda security digs in on middlemen of international contractor over SGR sabotage

KAMPALA – Uganda’s security agencies are investigating individuals linked to an international construction company that bid on the Standard Gauge Railway project. The government’s intervention was triggered by the award of the project to Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi, known for its excellent work on Tanzania’s SGR.

“The development kicked off disgruntlement among Ugandan-based middlemen representing an international contractor, who have since hatched plans to sabotage the project, threatening the positive development,” a security source revealed.

According to highly placed sources, the probe aims to uncover the extent of the sabotage plans and prevent any potential harm to the project.

According to multiple security and government sources, among the malevolent plans include forming a scheme whose cardinal purpose is to sponsor lies, blackmail, defamation and falsehoods against innocent people they falsely suspect to have been reason they lost the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) deal.

“We already know that the disgruntled individuals produce and disseminate as much disinformation and misinformation about the project as possible with the aim of scandalizing it so that the would funders get discouraged from associating with it,” a security source said, arguing that Uganda’s infrastructure flagship projects like Bujagali hydro power have in the past been victims of negative publicity that made the funders become hesitant to approve funds in time.

“So, government has this time decided to intervene at early stage,” the source said.
It is understood that Ugandan brokers that have been at the helm of every big project for decades, were extremely upset when President Museveni heeded to Late President John Pombe Magufuli’s advice try out the Turkish Railway specialized construction company Yapi Merkezi to take on the Uganda SGR contract from Malaba to Kampala. This was after the Chinese contractor had failed source funds for 7 years.

The Chinese contractor signed a contract with the government of Uganda in 2017 to build standard gauge railway from Malaba to Kampala. In the same year, Tanzania signed a contract with Yapi Merkezi commence her SGR development. Since that time, Yapi Merkezi has built the SGR from Dar es Salaam – Morogoro (300 kms), Morogoro- Makutupora (422 kms) which are now operational, and currently building Makutupora –Tabora (294 kms).

In 2018, Kenya signed a contract to extend the 120Km of SGR from Nairobi to Naivasha and Suswa and the works are already completed and operational.
While other East African countries were making giant strides in the construction, the Uganda’s SGR development stalled in its infancy due to the fact that the contractor failed to source funds as had promised. For the seven years the government kept the Chinese contractor on pressure to commence the project in vain because he couldn’t secure funds for the project as had originally stated in the proposal.

With negative progress from the Chinese contractor, former president of Tanzania the late Pombe Mafuguli advised, recommended and personally introduced Yapi Merkezi to his Ugandan counterpart. Yapi Merkezi was already constructing the Tanzanian SGR and President Magufuli was extremely happy their speed, efficiency and quality.

Disillusioned with Chinese contractor for doing nothing on the contract after 7 years of signing , President Museveni immediately dispatched a team of government officials to Tanzania to liaise with their counterparts overseeing the SGR construction but also to carry out due diligence on Yapi Merkezi. The team was also sent to countries Yapi Merkezi had constructed SGR like in U.A.E where the company successfully build and delivered Dubai metro ahead of schedule.

The team also went to, the United Kingdom, Germany and, Turkey for further evaluation. When the team returned with positive feedback, President Museveni immediately directed that the government commences open negotiations with Yapi Merkezi.

On 21 August 2024 the Minister of State for Information, Communications Technology & National Guidance Godfrey Kabyanga, while addressing the media in Kampala confirmed that the government is continuing to make significant progress in the development of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in the country, with government due to sign an EPC/ with M/s Yapi Merkezi (Turkish firm) in the coming few weeks.

Sources further told us that when the local agents of a competing international contractor got wind of the above development, they hastily convinced the Chinese contractor to submit a fresh proposal this time promising that if they are given another chance, they will not wait for 7 years like before but rather will mobilize funds quickly this time from Europe.

Accordingly, after losing the business, the frustrated agents have resorted to sponsoring unprofessional bloggers to tarnish, blackmail, and character assassinate anyone they suspect to have played a role in the losing of their business. According to a highly placed security official who requested not to be identified because of the sensitivity of this matter, “the middle men are fighting to ensure that Uganda fails to develop its flagship project by sponsoring falsehoods to discredit the project. Their motto is, if we can’t have it , no one else should … they are extremely greedy people but we are monitoring all their activities and moves .”

Another source from security said “We already know who these middlemen are, who they’re in touch with both government ministries and agencies, the professional extortionists hiding behind journalism to create fake accounts to fabricate and spread inaccurate information. Investigators are busy analyzing the evidence so far obtained”.

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