BREAKING! M7 orders firing of 152 CAA staff, bosses over corruption
BY RED PEPPER INTELLIGENCE UNIT
Panic has gripped the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) following President Yoweri Museveni’s order to sack 152 staff with immediate effect.
Furious Museveni also wants those responsible for their recruitment to face the same knife.
The directive is contained in a June 25th, 2025 letter to Works and Transport Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala.
According to the letter in our possession, Gen. Museveni’s order has been prompted by the information he received about alleged corruption within UCAA, including the recruitment of unqualified personnel.
“I have received information that there is massive corruption in the UCAA in terms of a number of aspects, including recruiting unqualified people for employment there. As a consequence, serious inefficiencies cause problems that must not be allowed to continue,” he stated in the letter also copied to Vice President-Jessica Alupo, Prime Minister-Robinah Nabbanja, Minister of Education and Sports-Janet Museveni, State Minister for Works and Transport-Fred Byamukama and as well Permanent Secretary/Ministry of Works and Transport-Bageya Waiswa.
In what appears to be the spark that warranted his call for immediate action is an embarrassment incident where a female VIP passenger was trapped in a lift at Entebbe International Airport for four minutes.
“One glaring embarrassing problem was, for instance, for Maama Maria Nyerere being trapped in an archaic lift for 4 minutes,” he pointed out.
He says an investigation was carried out and 152 unqualified staff were identified.
“All these must be sacked and so should those who recruited them. I demand immediate action,” he signed off.
MIXED REACTIONS
The directive has, however, drawn mixed reactions in the corridors of UCAA, Ministry of Works and intelligence bodies especially the Internal Security Organization (ISO).
According to confidential information obtained by this publication, there are whispers that the president may have relied on “biased and incorrect” information to issue this directive.
Highly placed sources privy with the on-goings intimated to us that since 2022, there has been a silent plot led by UCAA Director Human Resource and Administration, Sabah Ahmed Kakooza to kick-out some staff and replace them with friends, relatives and others.
To mask this, an academic audit was instituted targeting experienced-long serving staff at UCAA.
These are staff who have been at UCAA for 20 to 30 years.
The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority was established in 1994.
So, in essence, these are the initial staff who were picked from the Ministry of Works, the mother ministry that oversaw aviation matters before the CAA’s creation.
These individuals were essentially head hunted, vetted, trained and went on to inherit the newly formed CAA, hence a transition of personnel and expertise from the existing government structure.
But, in the grand scheme of things, the UCAA HR insists they were not properly recruited, lack requisite academic papers and hence must go.
These staff targeted for firing are also likely to lose out on retirement benefits.
There are concerns that firing such personnel en-masse who have got specialized aviation training could create a critical skills gap, potentially impacting airport security and operations given the increasing complexity and volume of air travel, which necessitates a well-trained workforce.
We are told her move was not welcomed by some officials at UCAA and as well the Ministry of Works, but saw an ally in her ‘close, special friend’ State Minister for Works and Transport-Fred Byamukama.
Having failed to justify the real motive, sources say, the Maama Maria Nyerere lift incident was like manna from heaven and they had to milk it.
We are told this is how the junior minister wrote to President Museveni recommending action.
When this publication contacted Works and Transport Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala whom the president’s letter was addressed to, he referred us to his junior.
“Look for the Minister of State for Transport [Fred Byamukama] he handled that issue,” he said in a brief Whats App text message to RedPepper.
Byamukama could not be reached by press time.
CAA HR’s RELATIVE ON THE SPOT
In a twist of events, a relative of UCAA’s Director Human Resource and Administration, Sabah Ahmed Kakooza, who was illegally recruited at the authority by the former as a Plant & Technician is responsible for such maintenance including a lift where Maama Maria Nyerere got stuck in.
“We have never had a lift related incident. How come this happened when her brother [Saidi Ahmed] was posted in the same department illegally? Was there any deliberate foul play or lift tampering for the HR to achieve her plans? This should be investigated,” pleads one of those concerned.
He adds: “Before action is taken, those concerned are asking the president to first review the information that he was given. All these were lies. Yes, the Maama Maria Nyerere lift incident happened but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to target long serving, experienced, patriotic staff. We call upon the ISO, Minister Wamala, Prime Minister Nabbanja and others copied in the letter to investigate further and get to the bottom of the matter.”
HOW UCAA HR IGNORED ISO VETTING TEAM’S FINDINGS TO GIVE RECRUIT RELATIVE
This publication exclusively reported about this scandal last year.
In 2023, UCAA advertised Security Assistant jobs. These are tasked with protection and safety of passengers and crew, ground personnel, the general
public, aircraft, airport facilities and navigational aids.
All applicants’ names had to be sent to the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) for vetting, first—and this was done in a letter (Ref: UCAA/04/SV/114) dated 16 November, 2023 by UCAA to the former.
On December 8, 2023, ISO sent back names of applicants who had been rejected by the vetting team.
“The following applicants are not recommended: Ahmed Saidi, Musoke Sula, Margret Tibakanya, Daniel Bukenya, George Otika and Taremwa Kenneth Akandwanaho,” the confidential letter reads, implying that security related adverse records had been traced on them.
In the same letter, ISO did not trace security related adverse records on Kamahoro Brenda Bitangaro, Kahubire Sheila, Nyakato Deborah, Ntende Philix, Najjumba Sharon and Kembabazi Rossette: they were recommended for employment.
ISO REJECTED APPLICANT SNEAKED IN
A year later (2024), one of the rejected applicants by ISO’s vetting team was spotted at Entebbe International Airport as a staff member.
He has been identified as Saidi Ahmed and a biological brother to the HR.
Our investigations show that he was appointed in July this as a Plant & Technician. According to the appointment letter signed by CAA’s HR, his one year contract was to run from July 22, 2024 to July 21, 2025 with a consolidated salary of Shs 2,070,000.
However, one wonders how he got the job and whether he was cleared by security given that he had previously been rejected after the ISO vetting team managed to trace security related adverse records on him.
“Who cleared him to work at a security sensitive area like the Airport yet he had been previously rejected by the ISO vetting team?” wonders one of the concerned insiders at the Airport.
There are fears that many staffers could have slipped in through the backdoor without going through vetting processes.
“The Airport is at risk if a Human Resource Officer can recruit someone who failed the vetting process. The Airport is not safe at all. How many have been recruited in this style? How long has this been going on? When will this stop? Who gives the HR such powers? She needs to be checked or else potential terrorists may end up being recruited,” adds a source in security circles who prefers not to be named because he is not authorized.
Sabah Ahmed replaced Pascal Jabbe Osinde Osudo in 2022 as UCAA Director Human Resource and Administration following the latter’s acrimonious exit.
There are now reports that most UCAA top bosses have fallen out with Sabah over her conduct but this is a story for another day.
She previously worked at URA in various positions for 12 years.
Watch this space!
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