BUNYORO SUGARCANE UNION SUE GOVERNMENT OVER CLOSURE OF WEIGHBRIDGES

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By Andama Moses
In Bunyoro
www.mknewslink.com—–
The High Court in Masindi has fixed February 26, 2026, to begin hearing a case in which the Bunyoro Sugarcane Cooperative Union is seeking to restore roadside weighbridges that government shut down over allegations that they were fueling widespread sugarcane theft.

The union filed Civil Suit No. 0002 of 2026 challenging the closure of the weighbridges, which many farmers and authorities have accused of providing markets for stolen cane.

Government officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, accompanied by police, closed the Rukondwa Weighbridge in Bikonzi Sub-county, Bujenje County, and the Kihande–Mile 2 Weighbridge in Masindi Municipality on February 13.

In its application, the cooperative union is seeking court orders to quash a decision by the Ministry of Internal Affairs suspending its privately owned weighbridges. It also wants an order prohibiting the Ministry of Trade from implementing the directive and a declaration that the suspension of the weighbridges is unlawful.

However, when the matter came up on Wednesday before Masindi Resident Judge Mary Babirye, the hearing did not proceed after the court was informed that the Attorney General—who represents the Uganda Police Force, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Trade—had not yet been served.

Lawyer Susan Zemei, representing the cooperative union, asked for more time to serve the Attorney General’s office, saying she would do so within two weeks. The court then fixed February 26 for the hearing of the application and March 5 for the main suit.

The case stems from government actions aimed at tackling rampant sugarcane theft, which farmers say has cost them millions of shillings over the years.

In a ministerial directive dated February 7, 2025, Trade Minister Francis Mwebesa ordered the immediate cessation of roadside weighbridges and truck scales used to weigh sugarcane during transit. He said the move was intended to improve traceability and reduce theft.

The minister directed millers to purchase sugarcane directly from the fields and have it weighed at approved facilities, noting that the new system would enhance accountability and reduce the risk of stolen cane entering the market.

He also clarified that farmers not bound by contracts were free to sell their cane to any miller of their choice.

In a February 6, 2026 letter to the Inspector General of Police, Internal Affairs Minister Gen Kahinda Otafiire cited a police investigation report dated November 7, 2025, which highlighted sugarcane thefts linked to roadside weighbridges.

“Following a review of a Uganda Police investigation report and the Masindi district local government resolution banning roadside weighbridges, it has been established that the ministerial statement on measures to combat sugarcane theft in Uganda should be implemented,” Gen Otafiire said.

He directed police commanders to urgently halt operations of roadside weighbridges and relocate them to agreed areas to curb theft and misappropriation.

Farmers recount losses

For many farmers, the closures came as relief after years of losses.

Growers say brokers and middlemen would harvest cane from gardens at night and sell it at roadside weighbridges, which provided ready markets without strict verification of the source.

Some vehicles linked to the theft rings were previously intercepted by security guards and police in plantations.

“Once stolen cane reached the weighbridge, it was as good as sold,” said one farmer in Bujenje County. “There was no way to trace it back to the field.”

Stakeholders seek anti-theft solutions

On Tuesday, State Minister for Trade Gen Wilson Mbadi convened a stakeholders’ meeting at the ministry to discuss the way forward.

The meeting, attended by millers, farmers, district leaders, ministry officials and representatives of the cooperative union, acknowledged rampant sugarcane theft linked to weighbridges.

Participants agreed on measures to improve traceability, including branding trucks transporting cane and ensuring that millers pick cane directly from farmers’ gardens instead of using roadside trading points.

The meeting also tasked the Masindi Resident District Commissioner to convene local stakeholders and identify new locations for weighbridges where theft risks can be minimized.

Currently, sugarcane buying is continuing in Masindi with millers collecting cane directly from farmers’ fields, a system authorities say reduces opportunities for theft.

But with the court battle set to begin later this month, the future of the disputed weighbridges—and the fight against sugarcane theft in the district—now rests partly in the hands of the judiciary.