The State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) has confirmed that it is jointly investigating Uganda Airlines with the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) over alleged embezzlement of funds, false accounting, and abuse of office.
State House Anti-Corruption spokesperson Mariam Natasha said investigations have already commenced and are being conducted in collaboration with CID. She urged the public and media to allow investigators to do their work, noting that updates will be provided as inquiries progress.
To facilitate the probe, CID and State House Anti-Corruption have formally written to Uganda Airlines Executive Director Jennifer Bamuturaki, notifying her of the ongoing investigations in a letter dated January 6, 2026.
“The Criminal Investigations Directorate, in collaboration with the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, is currently investigating a case of abuse of office, embezzlement of funds and false accounting against officials of Uganda Airlines relating to financial transactions,” reads part of the letter signed by Fred Lumala on behalf of the Deputy Director CID Economic Fraud, ACP Mark Odong.
CID has requested certified copies of several documents, including the National Airline Business and Implementation Plan, the approved 2024/2025 budget, Contracts Committee minutes approving the purchase of Boeing aircraft, and procurement files for services provided by Mixjet Flight Support Services, Associated Energy Group, Nyanzi Tours and Travel, and Aircraft Leasing Services (ALS) Limited. Investigators have also requested procurement records related to the construction of Uganda Airlines’ offices in Entebbe, the Internal Audit Report for the 2024/2025 financial year, revenue accounting and ticketing records, banking documents, cash receipt registers, fuel expenditure records, and a list of companies that supported the launch of the airline’s London route.
Uganda Airlines, which was relaunched in 2019 as the national carrier, has repeatedly come under scrutiny over governance, procurement, and financial management.
The airline is fully government-owned and receives substantial public funding, making it subject to oversight by the Auditor General and Parliament.
Previous investigations by the Auditor General and Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (PAC-COSASE) cited losses of UGX 140 billion linked to ticket fare manipulation and an additional UGX 170 billion arising from alleged price manipulation involving staff and travel agents.
Those probes also established that an executive in the fares and distribution department was linked to two travel agencies that sold more than 13,000 discounted tickets, valued at approximately UGX 9.8 billion, without declaring a conflict of interest—raising concerns about weak internal controls and enforcement of procurement and ethics rules.
Despite these findings, the PAC-COSASE report was later dismissed by Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among, a decision that drew criticism from sections of civil society and accountability advocates, who argued that unresolved governance issues at the airline persisted.
The latest SHACU-CID probe comes at a time when the government has reiterated its commitment to fighting corruption in public institutions, particularly state-owned enterprises that rely heavily on taxpayer funding. Officials say the current investigation will determine whether criminal liability arises from the alleged financial irregularities.
CID has also requested documents relating to SP Winfred Nakatudde, though investigators have not disclosed how far the inquiry may extend or whether arrests are imminent.
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