By Mulengera Reporters
The all-important Public Service Commission (PSC) of Uganda is now nonexistent following the expiry of members (or Commissioners) contracts. On 26th July, the contract of Commission Chairperson Winnie Agnes Kabogoza Musoke expired along with that of all the other Commissioners namely her deputy Francis Oryang Lagony, Grace Tubwita, Hajjat Kamulegeya Jamillah, Mugisa Michael, Beingna Mukibi, Titus Kisambira Mutanda, Olaunah Emmanuel Ourum and Adah Kabarokole Muwanga.
Ordinarily, the President could have signaled them to carry on for another four years since there are no term limits in place (under the current arrangement) but instead he disregarded calls on him to automatically extend the terms until the Commissioners had to leave office. And since that time, Uganda has operated without the Commission effectively being in place.
This is a very important Commission created under the Constitution and mandated to appoint new staff for government MDAs, promote and even discipline those with disciplinary cases. An interdiction of a public official or civil servant at a Ministry will require their input and even civil service cadres with expired contracts have to go through the PSC vetting to determine their eligibility for renewal.
This applies to even Permanent Secretaries and as we talk, there are PSs whose contracts expired and can’t be renewed because the Commission isn’t in place. The PSC also handles the graduate recruitment whereby thousands of fresh graduates respond to an advert and apply for entry level positions at the different MDAs. This happens at least every 2-3 years.
Even Presidential Advisors are all processed through the PSC. All the Ministry of Public Service does is to ascertain existence of the money for the wage bill and existence of a vacancy after which it clears the concerned accounting officer to go ahead to effect the recruitment which is conducted and processed by the PSC. All said and done, the absence of the PSC negatively impacts the conduct of government business at MDAs.
This news website has established that the President was dissatisfied with Ms Kabogoza’s leadership of the Commission, which is why all the other Commission members had to be affected under the doctrine of corporate guilt. The big man from Rwakitura saw the expiry of the contracts in July as an opportunity to effect the apex level purge which had been long overdue at PSC because of Ms Kabogoza’s ineptness.
Knowledgeable sources say that the President wants the new PSC to be more efficient and not to be unnecessarily too powerful because sometimes such has bred corruption and inefficiencies while delaying decision making. Sometimes, the President would express desire to have some senior public service cadres appointed to Public Service positions to serve roles of strategic importance to the country only to be frustrated by PSC because of too much powers Commissioners and bureaucrats there would be having.
For instance, he one time desired to make Dr. Joseph Muvawala the PS for the Gender Ministry following the exit of Pius Bigirimana only to be frustrated by lack of support and cooperation from some of the powerful Commissioners who were calling shots at PSC. The President has also lately been uncomfortable with PSC Commissioners not being strictly subject to well stipulated term limits.
We are told the legal regime is to be altered/revised to ensure that whoever comes after Ms Kabogoza will be easier to align to serve the urgency and broader agenda of government as was mandated by 7m voters during the Thursday 15th January 2026 elections. Sources say that the President isn’t bothered taking longer but eventually being able to reconstitute the PSC in a way that solves and fixes the problem of past inefficiencies once and for all.
It wasn’t readily clear if some of the Commissioners stand a chance of being reappointed back but under a different Chairperson-and not Ms Kabogoza anymore.
Sources close to Lucy Nakyobe, the head of Public Service who inevitably has to be involved in all the President’s PSC-related decisions, revealed that the appointing authority is this time round going to be more deliberate on ensuring that people coming in as Commissioners are high profile enough to give the newly reconstituted PSC greater reputation, capable of inspiring public trust and stakeholder confidence, than had been the case with its predecessors.
In the case of the old PSC, some of the members or Commissioners had been former elected officials and good cadres of the ruling NRM system which might have caused the appointing authority to feel obliged to reciprocate their loyalty and get them something in the life after occupying elected office.
This, at least, was the case with former Nakasongora Woman MP Grace Tubwita and Titus Kisambira Mutanda who became a PSC member after ceasing to be Jinja LC5 Chairman on the NRM ticket. Beingna Mukibi also previously served as Minister in Museveni’s government and also Woman MP Kibaale district.
Under the newly reconstituted PSC, the appointing authority doesn’t want to be perceived as using the Commission apex level jobs to reward political loyalty. Knowledgeable sources close to the process say that one’s track record, integrity and possession of the relevant experience will be given greater consideration than ever before. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
