How CAA Ignored Auditor General’s Recruitment Red Flags for Two Years—Until Museveni Intervened Uganda Civil Aviation Authority faces a major scandal after audit findings exposed irregular hiring of 136 unqualified staff without interviews, costing UGX 255M monthly. President Museveni orders sacking of 152 employees as accountability crisis deepens.

For over two years, Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) ignored major red flags from the Auditor General about irregular recruitment—an oversight that has now spiraled into a national scandal, culminating in a presidential order to sack 152 unqualified staff.

The unraveling of this scandal began with the Auditor General’s financial year report ending June 2023, which revealed that the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) had recruited at least 136 staff on both permanent and contractual basis without following any competitive interviews or merit-based assessment procedures.

These irregular appointments bypassed standard recruitment protocols, raising serious concerns about transparency, accountability, and adherence to public service guidelines.

In addition to the procedural breaches, the report highlighted the financial burden of these irregular hires, with the 136 employees drawing a combined monthly remuneration totaling UGX 255 million.

Despite this significant payroll cost, many appointees lacked the minimum academic or professional qualifications stipulated in advertised job descriptions.

In a detailed audit of personnel files, the Auditor General found no evidence of interview panels, shortlisting reports, or formal evaluations to justify these appointments.

Despite multiple audit reports, and probing parliamentary investigations, UCAA’s leadership failed to act. Instead, the Authority continued to absorb more staff into full employment with little or no documented vetting.

This claim came under fierce scrutiny when the Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) convened to interrogate UCAA officials.

A Parliament Watch report details how Committee Chairperson and Busiro East MP Medard Sseggona demanded answers on how 79 staff could be hired without meeting advertised job requirements.

Hon. Sseggona also demanded to know why nine employees were retained past their probation periods without confirmation or dismissal, violating clear public service rules.

In a tense session, UCAA’s Human Resource Manager, Jennifer Etit, admitted many recruits were former interns or seconded workers but insisted their retention was “justified by technical familiarity.” However, COSASE members were unimpressed, pointing out that even internal promotions or conversions must be documented and transparent to maintain accountability.

Adding fuel to the fire, COSASE unearthed glaring inconsistencies between UCAA’s payroll data and the Auditor General’s reports. The agency’s leadership provided conflicting figures on employee numbers and structures, raising suspicions of deliberate obfuscation and concealment.

A written submission from CAA to Parliament mentioned that while qualifications were a mandatory check and usually matched the competences, some staff members were reluctant to attain the minimum qualifications despite encouragement.

MPs also expressed concerns about CAA’s practice of maintaining seconded staff from other government bodies on the Authority’s payroll, despite the law prohibiting individuals from appearing on more than one payroll in Uganda.

Museveni intervenes

The scandal escalated further when President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni intervened decisively on June 25th, 2025.

In a sharply worded letter to the Minister of Works and Transport, the President condemned the UCAA’s recruitment debacle as “massive corruption” directly linked to declining service standards at Entebbe International Airport.

He ordered the immediate termination of 152 staff members implicated in the irregularities and mandated disciplinary action against officials responsible for their hiring.

The President’s letter referenced a recent high-profile incident involving Mama Maria Nyerere, a VIP trapped for four agonizing minutes in a malfunctioning lift—an incident emblematic of the Authority’s operational neglect.

Extortion at Entebbe International Airport

On January 19, 2023, CAA issued a public notice addressing widespread concerns over alleged extortion of passengers at Entebbe International Airport.

The notice came in response to multiple viral social media videos claiming that travelers are being forced to pay money to staff at various checkpoints within the airport.

UCAA had revealed that previously reported cases with specific details had been investigated, leading to severe consequences for implicated staff. These included contract terminations and the revocation of airport access passes.
The broader implications of this crisis cannot be overstated. UCAA manages Uganda’s airspace, airports, and critical aviation infrastructure—any compromise here risks not only passenger safety but also Uganda’s ambitions to become a regional travel hub.

For now, all eyes remain on UCAA’s Director General, Fred Bamwesigye, and the Minister of Works and Transport, Katumba Wamala, to see whether this crisis will catalyze lasting change to ensure the safety of every traveler who passes through Uganda’s skies.