Six security guards in Lyantonde have been arrested for theft of fuel.
The guards, attached to Security Plus Uganda Limited, are Samson Maitek, David Ekwaro, Boaz Turyamuhweza, Robert Muchunguzi, Joram Nshobomwe and God Tumuhimbise.
They were arrested jointly with ten workers of Reymonds Construction Company, the company that was awarded the tender to construct the Masaka-Mbarara highway.
The suspects are accused of stealing 300 liters of fuel meant for the trucks used in the construction of the 150 km Masaka-Mbarara high way. The guards are believed to have connived with the workers at the construction site to steal the fuel. The fuel was found hidden in jerricans.
Andrew Sorowen, the southern Region police commander says that from its inception, work on the 237 billion road project is already fraught with several cases of theft.
Sorowen says that workers at the construction site have been implicated in the theft of construction materials including cement and motor vehicle spare parts.
The suspects have been detained at Lyantonde central police station pending an investigation into the matter.
In the meantime, police presence at the construction site has been heightened to control further thefts.
The Masaka-Mbarara high way is a central section of the north corridor, which links the economies of East Africa and the Great lakes region within the Indian Ocean.
On completion, the road will benefit about 6,000 vehicles that use this route every day.
