UEDCL bosses sacked over poor performance

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has fired the Uganda Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (UEDCL) Board chairperson, Ms Lydia Ochieng Obbo and placed its managing director, Mr Paul Mwesigwa, on forced leave over alleged regression of the company.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Ms Nankabirwa stated that the company’s Board chairman had been terminated and that Mwesigwa was sent on a forced leave.

The government has undertaken a review of the management at UEDCL, the services of the chairperson of the Board have been terminated, and the Managing Director has been placed on forced leave to allow for a comprehensive review of UEDCL’s management and operations, Nankabirwa stated.

“To ensure continuity of operations and stability in service delivery, the shareholders have appointed an Interim Board Chairperson. The Board has, in turn, appointed an Acting Managing Director to oversee the operations of UEDCL during this transition period.”

According to her, the interim management will run the UEDCL until the vacant positions are substantively filled.

“The Ministry emphasises that these actions are part of routine governance and oversight procedures aimed at strengthening institutional performance, accountability, and service delivery within the energy sector,” Nankabirwa added.

The Daily Monitor established that Mr Mwesigwa, who has been at the helm of the company since July 2019, was sacked on Friday, in a letter authored by the Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa.

Mr Jonan Kiiza, the UEDCL spokesman, confirmed the development but declined to discuss the details of the sacking.

However, sources familiar with the matter say Mr Mwesigwa was sacked over increasing energy losses that the electricity sector incurred in the past year since UEDCL took over management of the electricity distribution from Umeme Ltd.

A source at the Energy Ministry who requested not to be named says Mr Mwesigwa’s one-year tenure in charge of the electricity distribution sub-sector saw electricity energy losses climb up 4 per cent after taking over, resulting in his sacking.

“In the letter, he (Mwesigwa) is accused of failing to transition the company since Umeme Ltd departed. The letter says that the electricity energy losses grew from 15 per cent when they took over from Umeme Ltd to currently 19 per cent,” the source said.

This publication assessed the distribution sub-sector’s performance status report issued on April 21, which details how the country’s electricity demand grew from 986.4MW to 1217.7MW (28.5 per cent) between April 2025 and March 2026.

While the number of customers active on the grid grew by 9 per cent in the same period from 2.45m to 2.76million, monthly energy purchases consistently increased from 534.6 GWh in January 2025 to 622.7 GWh in March 2026, with daily average purchases increasing from 17.1 GWh in March 2025 to 20.1 GWh per day in March 2026.

With an annual energy losses target of 13.65 per cent, UEDCL closed its 2026 first quota with energy losses at 18.11 per cent, including evacuation losses of 0.4 per cent.

The 2026 first quota, according to the report, registered the lowest loss of 18.07per cent since the transition from Umeme Ltd.

According to the source, UEDCL’s poor performance and increased energy losses resulted from the limited investment in the distribution infrastructure by the government.

“How can you not have energy losses when the network you inherited is poor, in a poor state? There are breakdowns everywhere, substations are full and overloaded, there is tripping everywhere, how then can you not have energy losses?” the source said.

So the inadequacy of planning is on the side of ERA and the Ministry; unless it is fixed, the sector will plunge further into a deeper crisis, the source added.