Veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda has welcomed the exit of Uganda Airlines Chief Executive Officer Jenifer Bamuturaki and noted it as a decisive intervention to rescue the national carrier from years of financial hemorrhage, governance failures and operational decline.
In a statement via X (formerly Twitter), Mwenda commended President Yoweri Museveni for authorizing the leadership change and credited Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba for playing a critical role in what he termed a long-overdue decision.
“I would like to thank President Museveni for finally saving Uganda Airlines by firing its corrupt and incompetent CEO. I also thank Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba whose intervention was decisive,” Mwenda said.
Mwenda argued that the airline’s problems go far beyond management reshuffles and called for a complete overhaul of leadership and governance structures.
He proposed that former Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Gilma Wake be appointed chairperson of the board and that the current Ethiopian Airlines CEO, whose contract ends in June, take over executive leadership at Uganda Airlines.
“We also need a new, much more competent board,” Mwenda said, insisting that only experienced aviation professionals can stabilise the struggling national carrier.
His remarks come amid mounting evidence of severe financial distress at Uganda Airlines during Bamuturaki’s tenure. Since its revival in 2019, the airline has absorbed nearly Shs1.9 trillion in government capital injections while consistently posting massive annual losses. Financial records show deficits exceeding Shs100 billion annually, rising to over Shs230 billion in the most recent financial year alone. Cumulatively, the airline’s losses are now estimated at well over Shs500 billion, raising alarm within Parliament and the Ministry of Finance over sustainability and value for taxpayers’ money.
In the 2023/24 fiscal year, the airline posted a net loss of Shs237.8 billion, prompting scrutiny by the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) over ticket fare manipulation and procurement concerns. According to committee members, the airline lost an estimated Shs140 billion due to alleged ticket manipulation and a further Shs170 billion tied to pricing practices between staff and travel agencies.
Parliamentary oversight bodies have repeatedly queried the airline over revenue leakages, procurement irregularities and ticket pricing practices. Investigations revealed losses linked to alleged ticket manipulation schemes involving staff and travel agents, alongside unexplained variances in fare pricing that reportedly cost the airline hundreds of billions of shillings. Lawmakers have also questioned aircraft lease arrangements, route viability decisions and escalating operational costs that continued despite persistent losses.
Beyond Parliament, law enforcement agencies have opened parallel investigations into the airline’s management. The Criminal Investigations Directorate and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit have in recent years demanded extensive procurement, banking and financial records as part of probes into alleged abuse of office, embezzlement, false accounting and procurement malpractice. These inquiries intensified public pressure on the government to take decisive action at the top of the airline.
Mwenda has been one of the most vocal critics of Bamuturaki’s leadership even before her exit. On December 15, he posted a video on X showing scenes of apparent chaos at Entebbe International Airport, including congested check-in counters, unattended luggage and visibly stranded passengers.
“The tragedy happening at Uganda Airlines is far beyond even my worst predictions. One plane is stuck in Lagos, another in London, passengers stranded and the airline rapidly falling apart,” Mwenda wrote at the time.
In the background of the video, a woman’s voice is heard claiming that airline staff abandoned their counters after passengers complained about poor service, further fuelling public anger and intensifying scrutiny of the airline’s operations.
Following the announcement of Bamuturaki’s exit, Mwenda said the move should mark the beginning of accountability rather than a cosmetic reset. He called for the reinstatement of staff that were competent and patriotic, but were dismissed under the outgoing management.
“Today is a day for Ugandans to celebrate. All the good, competent and patriotic staff of Uganda Airlines who had been fired will be returned,” Mwenda said.
He also warned that individuals who benefited from or enabled mismanagement would face consequences.
“Those who were working inside and provided us all the needed information will be rewarded. And all those who colluded with the corrupt management to swindle our airline will be brought to book,” he added.
