The State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) is investigating alleged fraud at Southern Range Nyanza Workers’ Association, a 2,000-member sacco run by Southern Range Nyanza Limited (Nytil) in Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District.
The probe comes after Nytil dismissed Mr Wycliffe Wamembo and Mr Julius Webisa, who were at the centre of probing the alleged irregularities.
Management cited ‘gross insubordination’ and ‘fundamental breach of obligations’ under the Employment Act. According to management, the pair resisted their transfer from the quality control department to the garments department effective last October, leading to their dismissal in December, which has sparked accusations of victimisation and unlawful termination.
The dismissed workers claim they were targeted for pushing accountability reforms within the sacco, and petitioned the SHACU on November 13, 2025.
‘. . . We believe that there are people behind the illegal running of the association activities. A lot of the association money is being misused and diverted for other personal use contrary to its intended purpose,’ their petition reads in part.
‘. . . Your intervention shall save the majority of the workers whose voices are silent due to their fear of losing their jobs,’ the petition adds.
The SHACU spokesperson, Ms Mariam Natasha, said investigations are underway.
‘What I can confirm is that the petition was received and investigations commenced. I will give you an update in due course,’ she said without divulging further details.
Mr Wamembo earlier alleged that the association has gone for more than 10 years without elections, annual general meetings (AGMs) or accountability, and that members have also been denied access to passbooks and that the sacco runs businesses generating more than Shs500 million annually without transparent profit sharing.
He further claimed that the association was registered as a limited company with directors appointed by management without members’ knowledge, while Mr Webisa sought accountability for workers’ savings over the past 10 years and justice for what he believed was illegal dismissal without payment of benefits.
Mr Jacob Muduaulira, one of their lawyers from Wasswa P Silas and Co Advocates, said their investigations reveal that the sums involved ‘could run into billions of shillings’. Lawyers from Guma and Co Advocates, also representing the pair, on Tuesday wrote to the Buikwe District Labour Office, saying their clients’ dismissal was in breach of the Employment Act, among other provisions.
‘. On behalf of our clients, we hereby request your statutory office to carry out an inquiry into our clients’ grievances and issue appropriate orders to wit; payment of salary arrears, compensatory orders, severance allowance, gratuity, and NSSF remittances for the period leading up to December 22, 2025, to ensure that our clients are made whole.’ The same lawyers have also written to the Registrar General of the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), requesting an investigation into alleged breaches committed by the association.
Nytil speaks out
The Nytil group head of human resources, Mr Anthony Katta, in minutes of a disciplinary committee meeting, said the transfers of Mr Wamembo and Mr Webisa were conducted in line with the company’s internal framework, while Ms Harriet Mawano Kyolaba, a member, advised against conflating sacco governance issues with internal staff transfers.
Ms Joan Nakaweesi, the Nytil human resource officer, in recordings of a meeting with a reporter who visited the company on July 28, 2025, said people were voted to head the association but this was halted because someone mishandled the finances.
‘The company decided that voting people into office wasn’t tenable. Some years back when she had just joined, the person who was in charge was a Kenyan, the association had two trucks, I think. One got lost, while the second one is available, but in the name of the person who left.’
Ms Nakaweesi further explained that the reason the association is not holding elections is because a number of things are being streamlined.