Embattled Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) Chairperson Mariam Wangadya has revealed that President Museveni personally rejected her resignation during a phone call, instructing her to immediately return to office and resume her duties.
Appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on Tuesday, August 11, Ms Wangadya addressed the cloud of uncertainty surrounding her leadership at the national human rights body following reports that she had tendered her resignation in July.
Her appearance before the accountability committee followed a dramatic directive issued on Monday by COSASE Chairperson Muwada Nkunyingi to Parliament’s Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and Police Division to arrest and produce her after she repeatedly skipped committee summons.
Probed by Mr Nkunyingi on whether she had received formal, written communication from the appointing authority rejecting her resignation, Ms Wangadya disclosed that the communication was delivered verbally by the President himself and later reinforced on the floor of Parliament by the Attorney General, Mr Sam Mayanja.
‘Mr Chairman, it is true I wrote a letter of resignation to His Excellency the President, and my resignation was rejected,’ Ms Wangadya told the committee.
‘The response I received from the appointing authority was through a phone call. It was not in writing. Sometimes His Excellency the President communicates through phone calls, and I was instructed, if I had left office, to return to office immediately. And I complied with the directive of the Fountain of Honor,’ she added.
She further noted that the Attorney General spoke on behalf of President Museveni when he informed Parliament that she remained the substantive chairperson of the commission.
‘He did not speak just on his own behalf. The words he spoke were the words of His Excellency the President… And I respect the Fountain of Honor, so I am in office,’ she maintained.
Operational dysfunction and internal rift
Ms Wangadya, who was appointed UHRC boss on July 15, 2021, and sworn in on September 29, 2021, faces severe scrutiny over governance and financial management. COSASE is currently examining accountability queries arising from the Auditor General’s report for the financial year ended December 31, 2025.
Beyond the financial queries, Tuesday’s proceedings laid bare deep-seated internal dysfunction and personal friction within the human rights watchdog.
The commission has reportedly not held a single formal leadership or decision-making meeting since December 2025-a prolonged paralysis that has effectively frozen the commission’s tribunal system and operational mandate.
The rift was visibly displayed in the committee room when UHRC Commissioner Stephen Basaliza requested permission from the committee leadership to greet Ms Wangadya, only to be publicly snubbed with a cold wave from the UHRC chief. The frosty exchange underscored a near-total breakdown in working relations between Ms Wangadya and her subordinate commissioners.
Despite the internal turbulence and parliament’s intense oversight pressure, Ms Wangadya maintained before the committee that she remains legally and substantively in charge, executing the mandate entrusted to her by the President.