Why Museveni is Firing Uganda Airlines CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki

Kampala — President Museveni has moved to remove Jenifer Bamuturaki as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uganda Airlines, following a State House meeting held in September 2025 that reviewed mounting governance failures, disputed aircraft procurement decisions and growing financial losses at the national carrier.

The decision, which has now been communicated internally to staff, comes as Uganda Police’s Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit intensify investigations into alleged abuse of office, embezzlement of funds and false accounting involving airline officials.

In an internal email circulated to staff this Monday afternoon, Bamuturaki informed employees that the airline’s Board would soon advertise the position of Chief Executive Officer, a clear signal that her tenure is ending.

“The Board will advertise the position of Chief Executive Officer shortly, and you are all encouraged to apply if you meet the required qualifications,” Bamuturaki said in an internal memo seen by ChimpReports.

State House meeting

According to multiple government and airline sources, the decisive moment came during a closed-door State House meeting in September 2025, convened by the President and attended by the Uganda Airlines Board and senior management.

The meeting reviewed a series of unresolved red flags, including disputed fleet procurement decisions, persistent audit warnings, revenue leakages and emerging law-enforcement interest in the airline’s finances.

During the meeting, the president told Bamuturaki to leave the meeting.

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“Go away, I don’t want to see you,” said a charged Museveni.

“Leave, you, go away,” he added before Bamuturaki left.

Sources familiar with the discussions said the President was dissatisfied with explanations offered by management and made it clear that confidence in the CEO had been badly eroded.

While no public action followed immediately, officials say the meeting effectively sealed Bamuturaki’s fate, triggering closer scrutiny and eventual leadership changes.

Museveni would later refuse to endorse the extension of Bamuturaki’s reign, encouraging the board to advertise the position of Uganda Airlines CEO.

Police Investigation

The leadership shake-up now coincides with a formal criminal investigation.

In a letter dated January 7, 2026, CID wrote to Uganda Airlines demanding extensive procurement, revenue and banking records.

The letter was copied to the Head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, underscoring the seriousness of the probe.

“The Criminal Investigations Directorate in liaison with 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,” the letter states.

CID requested, among other documents: contracts Committee minutes approving the purchase of Boeing aircraft; procurement files for fuel suppliers, aircraft leasing firms and ticketing agents; revenue accounting, banking and cash-receipt records and internal audit reports and expenditure linked to the launch of the London route.

The September State House meeting also reviewed significant financial losses accumulated under the current management.

A special audit found that more than $9.2 million (about Shs35 billion) in service fees continued to be charged to passengers after management scrapped the levy in July 2023. Auditors reported no evidence the money was banked, raising concerns of possible misappropriation.

Ticketing operations were also flagged after audits showed that agencies linked to airline staff — including Nyanza Tours and Travel — controlled over 90% of deeply discounted ticket classes, potentially suppressing airline revenue and breaching conflict-of-interest rules.

Fuel procurement contracts and aircraft leasing arrangements were similarly raised as areas of concern.

Why Museveni Intervened

Officials say the President’s decision reflects growing frustration that governance failures and financial leakages at a young, taxpayer-funded airline persisted despite repeated warnings from auditors and technocrats.

“By September, the issues were no longer isolated incidents,” one senior official said. “There was a clear pattern — disputed procurement, missing revenue and weak oversight. That is when the President lost confidence in management.”

What Comes Next

CID investigations are ongoing, and neither Bamuturaki nor Uganda Airlines has issued a detailed public response to the allegations.

For Uganda Airlines — relaunched in 2019 as a symbol of national pride and heavily financed by taxpayers — the leadership change marks a critical reset, as police and State House seek to establish what went wrong, how much was lost, and who is responsible.