The Turkish company which was awarded a massive $3 billion (approx. Shs 11 trillion) contract to construct Uganda’s long-awaited Malaba–Kampala Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is now at the center of a major corruption scandal back home, following the arrest of its top executives by Turkish authorities.
Yapı Merkezi, a globally respected infrastructure firm with projects across Europe, Asia, and Africa, was selected by the Ugandan government to lead the design, construction, and supply of rail vehicles for the 273-kilometer electrified railway line that will link Uganda to the Kenyan border and eventually to the port of Mombasa. The project is hailed as a critical pillar of Uganda’s strategy to modernize transport, ease trade logistics, and lower freight costs across the region.
However, the integrity of the project now faces serious questions after Turkish prosecutors arrested Yapı Merkezi Chairperson Mustafa Başar Arıoğlu, along with board members Erdem Arıoğlu and Sami Özge Arıoğlu, as part of a wide-ranging investigation into corruption, bribery, and tender manipulation within the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB).
The arrests took place during the fourth wave of what has become an intensifying anti-corruption operation targeting officials and associates of Istanbul’s opposition-led city government.
On May 23, Turkish police detained 45 individuals, of whom 25 including Yapı Merkezi’s leadership were remanded to prison by court order.
Among the arrested were key allies of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, including his Chief of Staff Kadriye Kasapoğlu, Deputy Secretary General Arif Gürkan Alpay, and other top municipal department heads. The accused face charges ranging from tampering with criminal evidence and membership in a criminal organization, to bribery and rigging public tenders.
Yapı Merkezi, whose detained executives were instrumental in major Turkish megaprojects such as the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge and the Eurasia Tunnel, has not publicly commented on how these arrests will impact its operations abroad, particularly in Uganda.
A Critical Project Now Under a Cloud
The Malaba–Kampala SGR is expected to be a game-changer for Uganda. The fully electrified line will operate at speeds of up to 120 km/h and adhere to modern European and American rail standards. Once completed, it will connect directly with Kenya’s Mombasa–Nairobi SGR, streamlining regional freight movement from Uganda to the Indian Ocean.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the near future, and the Ugandan government had viewed Yapı Merkezi’s selection as a breakthrough after years of funding delays and setbacks.
But the arrest of the company’s senior-most officials now casts doubt over the governance, accountability, and project continuity. Analysts warn that if Turkish courts proceed with asset freezes, or if financial institutions grow wary of reputational risks, the railway project could face fresh delays or even renegotiation.
Ugandan officials have not issued a statement on the matter, and it remains unclear whether due diligence will be revisited in light of the scandal.
Political Undertones in Turkey, Regional Ripples in East Africa
The Turkish government, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has defended the arrests, with Erdoğan stating: “You cannot escape accountability before the judiciary. We will fulfill our responsibilities because we are the ruling party.”
Opposition figures, however, argue that the investigation is politically motivated and part of a broader campaign to weaken the influence of Istanbul’s popular opposition mayor, who was himself previously arrested.
As the drama unfolds in Turkey, Uganda’s $3 billion gamble on Yapı Merkezi hangs in the balance. With major infrastructure ambitions on the line, the Ugandan government now faces the task of ensuring that the SGR project can move forward without becoming entangled in the fallout of Turkey’s political and legal turmoil.
Members of Parliament have called on the Government of Uganda to immediately suspend the contract, warning that the country risks losing colossal sums of money just as it has in previous contracts until the Turkish firm is cleared of the corruption charges it faces in its home country.
