The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has terminated or redeployed 82 employees over questionable academic qualifications, following a directive from President Yoweri Museveni, the Authority’s Director General, Fred Bamwesigye, has told Parliament.
Appearing before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on Thursday, 7 August 2025, Bamwesigye said the action followed a thorough internal disciplinary process.
“After full disciplinary procedures and fair hearings, contracts of 82 employees were terminated. Those seconded from other government agencies were returned to their respective institutions,” Bamwesigye told MPs during a session discussing the Auditor General’s Report for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Committee Chairperson Hon. Medard Ssegona questioned how such malpractice went undetected within a high-profile institution until the President intervened.
“This committee and the country need to understand what went wrong. Why did it take a presidential directive to uncover this? What measures have you taken against those who used forged documents?” Ssegona asked.
Hon. Fred Kayondo (DP, Mukono South) criticized UCAA’s recruitment process, warning that lax vetting could undermine the country’s international reputation.
“You manage an international airport. Recruiting people without proper background checks is inexcusable. What message are we sending to the world?” Kayondo asked.
Buzaaya County MP Hon. Martin Muzaale raised concerns about potential bias in the review process, especially regarding those seconded from other agencies.
“Have you separated those seconded by other institutions from those directly recruited by UCAA so we can clearly assess the extent of internal failure?” Muzaale asked.
Hon. Richard Nangoli (NRM, Elgon North County) urged UCAA to urgently revise its recruitment policies to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Bamwesigye revealed that the affected seconded staff came from the Uganda Police Force and Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). He noted that this was UCAA’s first comprehensive audit of employee academic credentials.
“It was a lengthy process involving verification with institutions of learning. In some cases, documents appeared genuine, while others had been tampered with,” he said.
