BUSHENYI, UGANDA- Tears and anger have gripped Ruharo Ward in Central Division, Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality as residents prepare to receive Minister for Local Government, Hon Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi, who is visiting Bushenyi District on Friday 6th November 2026 on his nationwide campaign dubbed “Expose The Corrupt”.
Residents talking to our reporter say they want Minister Balaam to come to Ruharo and expose the corrupt who killed their once celebrated project.
Everyone wants Minister Balaam to rescue them since their SACCO — Ruharo Heifer Project SACCO — is no more. Money was embezzled by a few individuals and all efforts to rebuild have failed. The building stands abandoned, no furniture inside, surrounded by thick bushes.
HISTORY OF THE PROJECT — FROM MODEL TO MISERY:
Our investigation reveals:
Ruharo Heifer Project SACCO was founded in early 2000s under the globally respected Heifer International (Heifer Project International) model of “Passing on the Gift” — where a vulnerable family receives a heifer (in-calf cow), passes on its first calf to another family.
It was established in Ruharo Ward as a Model Ward — Ruharo being a historical model village in Bushenyi District since the 1960s, fronted by Government as a demonstration ward for poverty eradication and zero-grazing.
Located in Central Division, Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality, the SACCO grew from a Heifer group into a community Savings and Credit Cooperative. At its peak between 2008-2015, it had over 300 members, mostly women and youth, with savings over UGX 50 Million, giving small loans to fight poverty, hunger and domestic violence.
It owned an office block in Ruharo, with furniture, records and a milk collection point that supported dairy farmers. It was cited by Ministry of Local Government as one of the best community-owned projects in Western Uganda.
But from around 2018-2020, the SACCO started collapsing. Residents allege leaders mismanaged funds, gave themselves loans they never repaid, failed to account for money, and sold off assets. Members lost savings. No audit has ever been made public. Leaders went silent.
Today, the building is empty, windows broken, no chair, no table, bush covering compound — a painful shadow of a model that once attracted visitors from across Uganda.
PRESIDENT YOWERI KAGUTA MUSEVENI MENTIONED IT:
Recently, when President Yoweri Museveni was in Sheema District on Thanksgiving of Minister Prof Ephraim Kamuntu, he talked about Ruharo Model and expressed distress over people who sabotage his poverty fight. Sources say President wanted to elevate Ruharo again as a national demonstration ward under Parish Development Model (PDM).
Residents say this collapsed SACCO is proof of what President complained about — people who turn him down on fighting poverty.
Now all eyes are on Friday. Residents say they have prepared a dossier, with names, figures and photos of the rotten building, to hand to Minister Balaam Barugahara to act.
“We voted for NRM because of such projects. Now our SACCO is dead. We want Balaam to come to Ruharo physically and expose the corrupt. We have suffered,” one elderly woman member told our reporter, crying.
They are asking the Minister not to end his Bushenyi tour in the District offices, but to walk to Ruharo Ward and see the unforgettable, so touching scene for himself.
ENDS.
Byarugaba Aureliano was the cause
Surely get all committee members and explain especially Ronald Rwabutwagi