The Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (UEDCL) interim management on Monday terminated the contracts of the seven senior managers, perceived to be loyalists to the ousted Managing Director Paul Mwesigwa, who were first sent on forced leave on May 6.
The septet: Ms Justine Nakagiri Ssemwanga, head of internal audit; Mr Boniface Barongo, head of human resources and administration, alongside Ms Beatrice Tumuheirwe , manager-HR business partner; Mr Jonan Kiiza, head of corporate and stakeholder affairs; Mr Protaze Tibyakinura, chief of engineering and technical services, Ms Barbrah Kyomuhendo, head of technology and applications; and Mr Geoffrey Musafu, manager of applications, were first sent on forced leave to pave way for investigations into the ‘workplace culture’ and poor performance since the company reassumed management of the country’s power infrastructure from Umeme Ltd on April 1, 2025.
On Monday, according to inside accounts, the septet was called by the company’s human resource office to pick their letters detailing termination of employment after June 30 when the current contracts run out, as per the Ministry of Public Service guidance on the merger of government agencies and departments, named Rationalisation of Government and Public Expenditure (RAPEX). The Ministry of Public Service put a hiring freeze on non-critical personnel to agencies and departments targeted under RAPEX, while the subsisting employees, in this case of the three electricity agencies: Uganda Electricity Generation Ltd (UEGCL), Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL), and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (UEDCL), were handed two-year contracts renewable upon expiry. While the group was initially sent on a one month forced leave in May, which was extended in June, it was the RAPEX technicality that was invoked to end the contracts.
UEGCL, UETCL and UEDCL, alongside the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), were midwifed from the then vertically integrated Uganda Electricity Board (UEB), which was unbundled following the enactment of the Electricity Act in November 1999. The Electricity (amendment) Act, 2022 provides for a re-merging of the three entities to form a vertically integrated Uganda National Electricity Company (UNEC) with departments for generation, transmission, and distribution, while the regulator, ERA, will remain a standalone. Cabinet guided earlier on that UNEC operates as a joint venture with 51:49 shareholding with a private player. However, along the way the same government that mulled the unbundling and rebundling of the three companies appears to be reading from different scripts.
In 2024, President Museveni reportedly directed a contract to be awarded to SMS Construction, to construct a mega office block for UETCL along 3rd street, Industrial Area, which project is behind scheduled and is marred in controversy, while UEDCL occupies a mega block in Nakasero, and UEGCL continues to rent in Bukoto. Nonetheless, the merger plans appear to be on the shelf for now. However, inside sources maintain that a section of government officials and commission agents continue to window shop for another concessionaire to partner with UEDCL. Some insiders claim some of the problems plaguing the distribution side of the power business are border on internal sabotage and deliberately inflicted, including claims of hiring online influencers to fuel commotion about power outages at some point. Power outages persist and service hasn’t improved that much across parts of the Greater Kampala Metropolitan as several substations are yet to be rehabilitated, the online clamour reduced slightly following the ouster of Mr Mwesigwa, who some say, besides his shortcomings as flagged by ERA had also made enemies on several fronts, especially on stalling procurement tender by some companies backed by their political godfathers.
Consequently, the former Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa sent Mr Mwesigwa on forced leave on April 29 reportedly on the orders of President Museveni who raised several concerns/issues regarding the company’s operations including the increase in electricity losses from 15 percent to 19 percent following the commencement of UEDCL’s operations of the National Distribution Network on 1 April 2025.’ Two months later, insiders said that UEDCL appears to be stuck on his fate since there is no fixed duration for forced leave under the Employment (amendment) Act.
Attempts to get a comment from the UEDCL management were futile by press time. The acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms Joselynne Rwakakooko is reportedly away for a conference in South Africa. Her understudy, Mr Isaac Mufumbiro, the head of strategy, compliance and regulation, did not answer queries by this newspaper. Mr Mufumbiro said he was in the hospital but promised to call back. He did not. Attempts to reach him again were fruitless.
According to the UEDCL human resource organogram, as the head of strategy, compliance and regulation, Mr Mufumbiro ranks among the mid-level managers alongside head of projects and construction, head of human resource, head of corporate and stakeholder affairs, and head of procurement.
Above them are six senior officers at the level of ‘chief,’ who were sidestepped to designate their underling as acting CEO, which insiders point to bubbling workplace paranoia. Mr Isaac Katewanga was named chief commercial officer, replacing Ms Rwakakooko, in the May reshuffles that saw former Umeme staffers take charge of UEDCL lock, stock, and barrel. Others who were named are Mr Steven Illungole succeeding Mr Kiiza; Mr Sylver Hategekema replacing Mr Tibyakinura; Mr Samuel Omoding replacing Mr Barongo; Mr Nickson Ahabwe replacing Ms Nakagiri Ssemwanga; Mr Richard Opiyo replacing Ms Kyomuhendo; Mr Francis Damulira in place of Mr Masaffu; and, Ms Christine Atuhaire succeeding Ms Tumuheirwe. They were all named in acting capacity.
Speaking during the company’s 21st Annual General Meeting in May, Ms Nankabirwa, who was dropped in the recent Cabinet reshuffle and made senior presidential advisor, defended Mr Mwesigwa’s ouster adding that while UEDCL’s financial performance had improved somewhat, this had been overshadowed by persistent customer complaints and electricity connection challenges. Umeme, which operated the power infrastructure from 2005 to March 31, 2025, closed off with energy losses-unusable energy generated during conversion, transmission, or usage, typically manifesting as waste-averaging at 16 percent, up from 38 percent in 2005.
UEDCL was given the target of reducing targets further to 13.7 percent, and as per Ms Nankabirwa’s April 30 letter had instead increased by roughly six percentage points. In comparison, Kenya and Tanzania, which have more installed electricity capacity than Uganda stand at 22 and 17.9 percent.
Meanwhile, the preliminary arbitration proceedings in London between Umeme Ltd and the government over payment of the $234.7m buyout are scheduled to kick off later this month.