By Mulengera Reporters
On Friday, President Museveni convened a meeting to discuss the crisis at Uganda Airlines. Venue was Entebbe State House and all key stakeholders were in attendance. One of these was CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki who came with a few Executive Committee (exco) members from the Company.
Bamuturaki didn’t know that others would be there and came thinking the big man wanted discussion about the Boeing Aircrafts the Airline is supposed to be buying.
Endless whistleblowing, pointing to potential wrongdoing and potential misappropriation, has delayed the releasing of money to facilitate the purchase of four Boeing Aircrafts to enlarge the struggling Uganda Airline’s fleet. The Finance Ministry PSST Ramathan Goobi has repeatedly been signaled by State House not to release the money.
So, Bamuturaki came thinking that the President would ask a few clarification questions seeking to understand the truth behind repeated whistleblower petitions flogging potential wrongdoing and misappropriation in this procurement worth hundreds of billions.
It turned out she was wrong. The big man from Rwakitura came armed with a huge file contained findings from the secret investigations he has clandestinely been carrying regarding what has exactly gone wrong at Uganda Airlines.
Waving in her face one document after another, Museveni enumerated to Bamuturaki what he has confirmed has been going wrong, including some of the top exco members engaging in multi-billion procurement deals and demanded to know what she was still doing at the Airline.
The President was unusually tough and made it clear he expected much better from Bamuturaki. Museveni, who initially had been duped by the now relegated State House employees (namely Susan Kasingye and Lt Col Betty Agaba) into thinking that Bamuturaki was such a very good person, made it clear he wants the CEO job advertised as soon as in practable.
People at the meeting have revealed that Bamuturaki (who had spent the entire Thursday night in office printing, putting together and binding Boeing-related documents thinking they would be needed at the State House meeting) couldn’t believe the viciousness with which Gen Museveni castigated her moreover infront of her perceived enemies.
Chief Finance Officer Allan Kyeyune flanked Bamuturaki and he quickly realized that the thick yellow shirt and tie he came wearing, ostensibly to demonstrate his loyalty and credentials as an NRM cadre, weren’t going to cajole the big man from Rwakitura. Not even by an inch.
After rebuking her and asking tough questions, while enumerating names of managers and exco members who CID will be coming for over alleged involvement in controversial deals, Museveni demanded that Bamuturaki (who was called all sorts of derogatory names) immediately marches out of the meeting room and that is what happened.
In what amounted to total demystification and turning of tables on Bamuturaki, the meeting was attended by people she doesn’t like that much namely all the Board members and officials from the line Ministry of Works and Transport. Theoretically, the company for which she serves as CEO is owned by the two Ministers of finance and transport as shareholders.
Bamuturaki is more comfortable with supervisors at finance than transport. Matia Kasaija has extreme fondness of her, having been best man to her late father George Bamuturaki’s wedding in the 1970s.
The CEO has always been very contemptuous of the Board because of the clout and influence she derived from being able to regularly get the big man’s ear as was constantly enabled by key Bamuturaki enablers namely Kasingye and Lt. Col Agaba. The two have since been relegated from the powerful positions they hitherto occupied at State House.
Bamuturaki had come in thinking it was only herself and her carefully selected exco members meeting the President. She never imagined her enemies from the transport Ministry and the Board being there for the same meeting (this was the first time she was having direct audience with Gen Museveni in four months). So, seeing them there alone made her to feel belittled and emotionally deflated.
After kicking out Bamuturaki and her team members, Museveni turned to Board members and furiously demanded to know why they are timid and have continued being quiet when all this rot (contained in the huge file he kept waving) has been happening.
The Board members looked at each other, in the presence of their line Ministers Gen Katumba Wamala and State Minister Fred Byamukama, and couldn’t readily answer to the President.
Museveni also repeatedly demanded to know why there is a lot of intrigue and infighting at the Airline, a problem he vowed to cure by allowing the CEO job to subsequently be recruited through an open and competitive process.
Multiple sources say that it was clear all through that Gen Museveni was regretting the public praise he one time proclaimed in favour of Bamuturaki, while demonizing MPs who had insisted on investigating the Company while declaring her to be fatally unfit to be CEO.
WHY AIRLINE BOSSES ARE FIGHTING:
As Bamuturaki faces a clearly very uncertain future between now and latest April next year, the following are some of the reasons why top bosses at Uganda Airlines have been and will continue fighting and having vendetta at each other.
As it became clear at the President’s meeting on Friday, the infighting is mainly about multi-billion deals which have enabled one of the consequential officials at Uganda Airlines to purchase apartment properties in Lubowa, Pearl Marina and outside the country in such a short time.
The same official operates a fat dollar account in a commercial bank in Tanzania where millions of dollars, made from controversial deals, have continued to be deposited since August last year. This same official, who is the envy of many in exco, is currently under State House-instigated investigations by Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA).
At the President’s meeting, it became clear that some of the fights cropped up after some insiders at the Airline learnt about the millions of dollars some managers made and shared off the London flights’ launch of months ago.
There was concern as to why $5.7m was recorded to have been expended yet lots of contributions came from especially commercial banks in Kampala which have a lot of interest in the London route.
The insistence by some insiders that some of their colleagues explain themselves about the $3.2m that was allegedly shared through an account in Dar es Salaam, days after the London launch, has caused endless discomfort and feuding at Uganda Airlines.
One official has since been confirmed by FIA to have suspiciously received $1.8m on his/her foreign account days after the London launch. State House has been involving FIA each time a red flag is raised relating to money being shared using foreign bank accounts.
Museveni is angry that people in top management have been fearful and reluctant to crack the whip on managers involved in such shady dealings.
A section of insiders has also been relentlessly objecting to the circumstances under which a decision was taken to keep leasing an old aircraft from South African dealers at a cost that is thrice inflated-paying $3m as opposed to $1m other operators like Entebbe Airlines pay leasing or hiring the same aircraft.
This not-so good aircraft is renowned for being the second oldest on the African continent and many could only lease it in extreme circumstances after all options have been explored. There are also concerns that there is no need for leasing without adequately utilizing all the aircrafts Uganda Airlines has in its fleet.
There have also been fights relating to the circumstances under which more than $11m has lately had to be expended on fuel purchases from suppliers who are not pre-qualified and with whom the Airline has no proper framework contracts. This has been the reality since Dubai-based Mixjet was arbitrarily kicked out.
Whistleblowing reports in possession of the President indicate that some managers at the Airlines company are pocketing a daily commission of $24,000 after the kicking out of Mixjet whose officials refused/failed to every week part with $50,000 for power brokers to share as commission on a weekly basis!
The other cause of chaos inside Uganda Airlines has to do with the proposed purchase of the Boeing aircrafts, which has since become controversial. There is anger that some insiders, acting as whistle blowers, got State House to object to the same after $31m was presented to be the cost for the purchase yet the same costs just $13m for other operators.
Officials who recently travelled to Dublin to kick start the negotiations felt stabbed in the back and have never forgiven those who they believe blew the whistle about the inflated purchase price to the President who weighed in and had the whole thing halted.
There are also concerns that for some good while, technical persons have deliberately been excluded and not adequately involved in the negotiations relating to the purchase of Boeing aircrafts.
Recently, a team had been put in place to travel to go and further the negotiations but people in higher authority positions blocked the travel on grounds that the team hadn’t been properly constituted. One of the managers, an expatriate who has repeatedly been accused of personalizing decision making at Uganda Airlines, had included his own PA called Brenda Ninsiima whose technical expertise and competence was vigorously queried.
The trip was stopped at the last minute and those who were supposed to travel and pocket juicy allowances haven’t stopped castigating those they think were behind the whistle blowing that caused the trip to be halted by people in higher authority positions.
The arbitrary knifing of staff and managers too has caused quite a stir at Uganda Airlines, with several terminated employees getting aggrieved and filing countless cases in Court and thereby exposing the Airline to very expensive litigation.
This has caused Head of Administration, HR & Personnel John Kasangaki to come under a lot of scrutiny with many coming to the conclusion that he is no longer in charge of his docket anymore.
One of the HR knifing decisions that have turned out to be very controversial is that of former VVIP and dispatch manager Robinah Ssanyu. Upon being accused by her superiors of being the SFC/Gen MK spy inside the Airline, Ssanyu was summarily dismissed.
Her job was controversially given to former security guard Christopher Ddumba (aka proud boy) whose monthly salary was curiously raised from near nothingness to Shs25m. This proud boy called Ddumba has since been rewarded with endless luxurious trips abroad and his supervisors say they can’t manage him anymore because he feels too powerful having recently become a “very special friend” to one of the most powerful female managers and exco members at Uganda Airlines.
The pampering of Ddumba is angering many, amplifying whistle blowing against what’s happening at the National Airliner. On 6th May, President Museveni had to personally write a letter to line Minister Katumba Wamala demanding for reinstatement of Robinah Ssanyu who intelligence reports had indicated to him was a victim targeted witch-hunt by paranoid members of top management.
We have seen this particular letter in which Museveni makes it clear he is tired of obscurantism, intrigue and victimization of innocent staff at Uganda Airlines. The big man was clearly appalled as to why anyone could be victimized for closely working with SFC!
Away from HR-related grievances, there are also insiders who are questioning to authenticity of claims that the $7m that is spent on fuel purchases per month is money well spent-and moreover on supplier companies which were never properly procured to replace Mixjet whose ouster has also attracted expensive litigation for the Airline.
There are also fights about the Shs6bn that was expended on renovating the Works Ministry old building near UPPC headquarters in Entebbe. Loss-making Uganda Airlines is supposed to relocate and begin operating from this premises in order to reduce on rent expenses at Capt. Tony Rubombora’s building where they are currently headquartered.
This Works Ministry building is located along Plot 6 in Entebbe. Whereas Shs6bn was recorded to have been expended on the renovations, the President’s information is that the actual cost was just Shs3bn. This means the cost was inflated by 100% and State House’s evidence is that the manager who was overseeing the renovation works used some of the njawulo that was made to buy a Mercedes Benz.
Yet on learning the President had become aware about what happened and was angry, the impugned manager feigned sickness and travelled to Dubai from where he continues to chill. There is also resentment about the $100 the Airline is charged per hour for the venue in Entebbe where Board meetings are held. Many see this as avoidable expenditure and a lot of whistle blowing has been done around that same issue.
There is also internal resentment regarding the circumstances under which Shs1.5bn was recorded to have been expended on renovation of the Airlines parking yard in Entebbe yet in actual sense Shs200m could be enough to have that same work done!
This too has been red flagged to the President with Gen Henry Isoke’s State House Anti-Corruption Unit being copied in. Gen Museveni is angry and wants heads to roll at Uganda Airlines over all these deals. Sources say that the President wants his phased and comprehensive purging of the wrong people at Uganda Airlines effected between now and April next year.
There is also resentment regarding the deception that was recently sold to the country about Ugandan local engineers effecting the change of engine on one of Uganda Airline’s Aircrafts (CRJ).
Because it hadn’t been done adequately well and properly, the thing recently twice failed to take off in Dar es Salaam over safety concerns and the more than 50 passengers on board ranted and fumed like there was no tomorrow.
On the 28th August, an incident report had to be authored last month with the engineers involved getting recalled and profiled. A group of pilots, led by Captain Aaron Obiro and First Officer Joshua Opio, endured extreme inconvenience that same day.
This is something of the passengers, who witnessed the debacle, have raised some red flag about by petitioning the Uganda aviation regulator. The less than appropriate handling of that engine replacement exercise has internally unsettled many and thereby making Uganda Airlines more complicated for Bamuturaki to govern. In fact, there is growing pressure to protect Eng Peter Amuge who heads engineering at Uganda Airlines.
There are also concerns as to why Uganda Airlines has continued refusing to pass on Airport tax fees (of $50) which every passenger flying out of Uganda is charged. On that issue Uganda Airlines is merely a collection agent for Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), the regulator yet the money hasn’t been passed on for the last roughly 5 years.
This is a major breach of regulations and other operators have been complaining as to why Uganda Airlines is pampered yet for them are compelled to pass on that money on a weekly basis without fail. Many insiders are sympathetic to such operators and see the regulator’s reluctance to crack the whip as promoting unfair competition.
As of now, the amount owed in relation to Airport fees, which is what UCCA the regulator uses to do its work and generally maintain Entebbe Airport, is approaching $100m. Recently, Gen Katumba Wamala and Matia Kasaija (who are the two shareholders of the company) convened a crisis meeting and tasked Uganda Airlines top management to explain.
The explanation was that such money ends up being used to meet daily operational expenses especially those relating to fuel. The representatives from UCAA made it clear that the regulator’s patience was running out because the money is needed and the preferential treatment of Uganda Airlines was causing ICAO-related regulatory complications as other competitor operators keep ranting about favoritism and unfair competition.
The regulator is cautious to crack the whip over Uganda Airlines’ noncompliance because they are both government entities.
At the same Uganda Airlines, there are concerns about disparity in payment of pilots’ remuneration. Recently a decision was taken to enlarge on the pool of pilots for the Airbus to meet growing travel demands as more routes are getting opened. A group of junior pilots were selected to undergo training and upon completion, they were deployed with new contracts.
They were 6 in total and they immediately imploded refusing to sign onto their new contracts after realizing that only Shs31m per month was being offered to them as salary, as opposed to Shs45m their longer-serving comrades are earning per month.
The aggrieved pilots made it clear to Head HR John Kasangaki that they were not prepared to be exploited with Shs31m per month yet their colleagues doing the same work (flying not less than 100 hours per month) under similar circumstances are taking home Shs45m per month.
The disgruntled pilots have since escalated their dispute to the Works & Transport Minister Gen Katumba Wamala who they want to bring their remuneration-related grievances to the attention of the President.
They started with the Board but got disappointed when not much progress was made because Board members have all along been fearing to antagonize Bamuturaki who they thought was very powerful and still in good books with the President.
This is no longer the case because the ouster from Susan Kasingye and Lt Col Betty Agaba from the State House bureaucracy increased the CEO’s vulnerability. The duo had been shielding the big man from Rwakitura from accessing negative written reports about Bamuturaki-era Uganda Airlines.
During the duo’s hey days, Bamuturaki would also easily get to know about disgruntled managers who keep sneaking negative dossiers to the President. Their exit has since emboldened plenty of whistle blowing against the Uganda Airlines top management decisions and thereby increasing Jenifer Bamuturaki’s vulnerability and susceptibility to getting deflated. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
