KAMPALA, Uganda — Senior leadership at the Uganda Registration Services Bureau remains in limbo as mandatory leave, interdiction orders and parallel investigations into allegations of financial misconduct and institutional mismanagement continue following an internal dispute that escalated to State House.
Five senior officials, including Registrar General Mercy Kainobwisho, Commissioner for Business Registration Gilbert Agaba, Assistant Commissioner for Business Registration Walid Kule, Commissioner for ICT and Innovations Arthur Kwesiga and Deputy Registrar General for Finance and Administration Alex Anganya, were placed on mandatory leave around Aug. 14.
The action followed days of forensic audits at URSB headquarters in Kampala and stemmed from a July 24 directive by President Yoweri Museveni to Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao.
In correspondence seen by several media outlets, Museveni directed the officials and others to step aside pending an audit into allegations including embezzlement of government funds, abuse of office, money laundering, maladministration and institutional mismanagement at the Bureau.
The crisis is linked to a prolonged internal dispute over the leadership of the Business Registration Department, headed by Agaba. Management and the URSB Board had raised concerns about supervision, coordination, implementation of directives and alleged insubordination. Disciplinary proceedings against Agaba were already underway when he responded with counter allegations.
In a July 29 letter, Agaba challenged the disciplinary action and outlined complaints he said he had previously raised with management. Among them were allegations of inflated contracts for the development and maintenance of ICT systems, money laundering linked to the Non Individual Register project, misappropriation of Bureau funds, irregular procurement, fraudulent registrations, weak internal financial controls and revenue under collection.
The dispute later reached Attorney General Sam Mayanja after an official sought intervention over alleged criminal activities before the matter was escalated to the President.
Sources familiar with the situation have described growing divisions among senior managers, with disagreements reportedly affecting top management meetings and raising tensions over responsibilities, authority and control of institutional resources.
URSB on Aug. 17 confirmed that an audit was underway in accordance with established procedures and applicable laws. The Bureau said its services remained uninterrupted and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and accountability.
The following day, Inspector General of Government Lady Justice Aisha Naluzze Batala directed Mao to immediately interdict Kainobwisho over the allegations.
She separately directed URSB Board Chairperson Francis Butagira to interdict Anganya, Kwesiga and Kule pending the completion of investigations. Batala also ordered the cancellation of a planned URSB executive training programme at the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi, saying interdiction was necessary to prevent possible interference with the investigations.
In a statement issued Aug. 18, Mao confirmed that the five officials would remain on mandatory leave until the investigations are completed.
Mao said the President’s directive reached his office on Aug. 5, after which he consulted the URSB Board chairperson. He later met the Board and senior management, urging them to cooperate with investigators while maintaining stability and staff morale at the institution.
The minister expressed confidence that URSB’s performance record would ultimately help establish the institution’s position. However, he said the decisions had been taken without giving the Board and management an opportunity to be heard.
Mao said he intended to seek a meeting with the President to allow the Board and management to present their side and address what he described as potential reputational risks to the institution.
He also raised questions about the independence of statutory boards in exercising their oversight and disciplinary responsibilities.
URSB is responsible for business registration, intellectual property administration and related quasi judicial functions, including alternative dispute resolution. In recent years, the Bureau has also highlighted its digitisation programmes, company deregistration efforts and progress in resolving commercial disputes.
The ongoing investigations have nevertheless placed the institution’s senior leadership under intense scrutiny and attracted widespread public and media attention.
The Inspectorate of Government investigations, alongside the presidentially directed audit, are still underway. No findings have been publicly released, and none of the officials has been convicted of wrongdoing.
The Bureau continues to operate under interim arrangements directed by the Board as investigators examine the allegations.
The unfolding dispute has raised broader questions about governance, accountability, whistleblowing and the balance between institutional oversight and external intervention at one of Uganda’s key agencies responsible for supporting the country’s formal business environment.
Further developments are expected as the investigations continue and efforts to secure a meeting between the URSB leadership and the President proceed.
