Former UCAA official petitions COSASE over new director general

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A former top official in Uganda Civil Aviation Authority-UCAA has petitioned the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises-COSASE to investigate irregularities surrounding the appointment of Fred Kanyogoga Bamwesigye, the new director-general of UCAA.

In his October 11, 2021 petition, Jabbe Pascal Osinde Osudo, the former Director of Human Resource and Administration at UCAA says Bamwesigye was irregularly recruited as he didn’t meet the criteria in the advert. He contends that Bamwesigye lacks the integrity to run such a highly specialized agency with regulatory powers.

Osinde also claims that Bamwesigye’s academic documents contain several discrepancies. He also argues that based on his passport, Bamwesigye was above the 55-year age limit when he was appointed, which was a key recruitment requirement. In his evidence backing the petition, Osinde indicates that Bamwesigye has three dates of birth.

His passport issued on July 23, 2004, shows that Bamwesigye was born on November 27, 1963, while another passport shows that he was born on November 27, 1967. “Kanyogoga lists his birth date as Nov 27th, 1963 on his NSSF card number 6317900004622. Kanyogoga in his application to join Makerere University lists his birth date as 27th November 1964”, reads the petition.

The petition shows that when it comes to academics, Bamwesigye claims that he was born on November 27, 1967, and in one of the result slips he tenders in the names of Fred Kanyogoga, he sat PLE in 1976, which indicates that he joined primary one at one-year of age.

“In his official records and CV, he indicated that he sat PLE in 1978 as Fred Bamwesigye. He also goes ahead to list that he had sat UCE in 1981, two years after completion of PLE. From the various documents submitted by Fred Kanyogoga Bamwesigye, he possesses various dates of birth and several results for PLE, UCE and UACE”, reads the petition.

Adding that “Honorable, having a fraudster of this nature in charge of such a sensitive sector is very risky as he will not live up to the values of air transport, which demands adherence to rules. Bamwesigye with all the irregularities about his age and academics also sits on the Board of National Social Security Fund.”

Osinde wants COSASE to investigate and save UCAA from Bamwesigye whom he describes as a fraudster and masquerader. The UCCA Public Affairs Manager Vianney Luggya told URN that whereas UCAA and the Director General are contemplating legal action, the malicious claims should be ignored with the contempt they deserve.

He said that the Acting Inspector General of Government and the court investigated the matter in April 2021 and dropped it. “In April 2021, a recycled anonymous whistleblower report was again sent to the Inspectorate of Government over the same claims and in a media interview, the then Acting. IGG noted that the claims were first presented to the IGG in 2017, comprehensively investigated and found to be untrue. The matter was recycled four times and sent to the same office with the same content”, said Luggya.

Adding, “The matter has also been to court through civil suit number 110 of 2021, and Court resolved the matter through a ruling that exonerated Bamwesigye on April 9, 2021. He erroneously recorded conflicting dates in his early school days, which was carried on in the first years of employment.”

He explained that upon confirmation of the right date of birth, following recovery of authentic documentation, including a baptism card, the right date was formally regularized through a September 2007 Statutory Declaration and long before contemplating that he would in future vie for the position of Director General of UCAA.

“In 2007, Bamwesigye had not even joined the Authority. The records being discussed on social media are from a passport that was obtained sometime back before confirmation of the exact date of birth as indicated above. In their investigations, the Inspectorate of Government noted as much, and so did court, before making a ruling on the matter.”

About the petitioner

In 2020, the then State Minister for Works and Transport, Joy Kabatsi suspended Osinde from his position as the Director of Human Resource and Administration on allegations of backbiting and infighting that prejudiced the good image of the organization and affected productivity.

However, on July 15, 2021, High Court Judge Musa Ssekaana ruled that the decision by Kabatsi to send Osinde on forced leave was unlawful. He however did not make orders reinstating Osinde on his job at the authority on grounds that his employment had been terminated in other court proceedings.

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URN