Arrested: Mubiru (Circled).
A Ugandan contractor, Eriya Mubiru, has been arrested in Dubai for allegedly extorting over Shs 2 billion from a businessman in United Arabs Emirates (UAE).
Mubiru known for obtaining mega contracts from the Ministry of Defense, was in 2017 put on spot over shoddy works and inflating the Kaweweta Recruit Training School (KRTS) procurement deal to a tune of Shs76 Billion. The same was investigated by a committee instituted by President Yoweri Museveni which cited fraudulent procurement methods and tax evasion by Mubiru’s companies – J2E Investment Corporation and Roester Construction Corporation.
In 2020, the Ministry of Defence’s administrative review committee was set up to look into the findings by an earlier investigation led by the then Deputy Chief of Defence Forces, Lt Gen Charles Angina.
Gen Angina had found that Mubiru’s companies had been awarded five contracts for construction works of the Kaweweta Recruit Training School through either fraudulent bidding processes or without any procurement procedure at all, and had presented fake profiles of employees to win the contracts.
The report stated that Mubiru himself had claimed he was a qualified engineer whereas not.
Gen Angina further found that Mubiru’s companies had forged books of accounts, evaded taxes and had failed to execute the works paid for. Phases I, II and III of the works at the training school had not been completed, several years after the contracts had been awarded yet Mubiru had been paid most of the contract money.
Gen Angina wondered how the same company would be awarded another phase of the works before completing the previous one, and pointed out that much of the work that had been done was shoddy.
This led Mubiru to flee the country and only returned once when several high serving UPDF officers begged President Museveni to forgive him.
It is alleged that Mubiru ran out of luck a few days ago when he attempted to board a flight back to Entebbe and was arrested and detained, pending further investigations into fraud allegations.
Back home, Mubiru has been been in many controversial land deals such as his involvement in the grabbing of Kajjansi Forest Reserve which was recently brought to the attention of State Minister for Lands Sam Mayanja who directed the State House Anti Corruption Unit to investigate the same.
The ‘highly connected’ Mubiru is said to be conniving with some government officials to carry out land grabbing and evictions in various parts of the country such as Kira, Mukono and has recently been involved in land grabbing in Kassanda.
