By Aggrey Baba
Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa has openly defied Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja’s directive to halt the ongoing investigation into the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), insisting the probe is essential to stabilizing the country’s electricity distribution system.
In a firm letter dated December 9, Nankabirwa told the Prime Minister that the inquiry she instructed the UEDCL board to conduct can’t be stopped, arguing that ERA’s recent assessment exposed deep management and operational gaps that require urgent correction.
Her response has now placed the two senior leaders on opposite ends of a sensitive administrative dispute. And like two bulls locked in the same kraal, each is standing their ground on what they believe is the right course for the newly reclaimed public utility.
Nankabirwa explained that ERA’s eight-month review of UEDCL revealed serious weaknesses, frequent outages, slow restoration times, delayed procurement of critical materials, backlog in new connections, ICT gaps, and governance issues affecting customer service.
She said these findings justified her directive for a board-led investigation and a comprehensive report with an implementation plan, noting that her ministry is awaiting the board’s report, which will inform further decisions.
She also emphasized that halting the probe would leave the system exposed at a critical stage in UEDCL’s transition from the Umeme era.
Nabbanja’s earlier letter of December 3 had ordered UEDCL to freeze all personnel-related actions, warning that what appeared to be massive termination of senior managers could destabilize UEDCL, increase outages, and disrupt industrial operations.
The PM argued that the matter must first be discussed at cabinet level and asked Nankabirwa to furnish her with ERA’s six-month performance report on UEDCL.
To Nabbanja, abrupt restructuring in the middle of a political season would be unnecessary destabilization in a company still managing the challenges inherited after Umeme’s exit.
In her reply, Nankabirwa dismissed claims of mass sacking, saying the ministry had never ordered a blanket termination of senior managers.
Instead, she said she only instructed the board to suspend specific officers if necessary and carry out a structured inquiry to prevent further deterioration in service delivery.
She also rejected suggestions that private companies were being lined up to return to power distribution, insisting no such plan exists.
The exchange comes at a time when UEDCL is under heightened scrutiny for failing to meet several ERA performance targets, including electricity reliability, connection timelines, and procurement efficiency.
Insiders say the reforms have attracted competing interests, with some groups allegedly pushing for private-sector involvement, while others favour strengthening the public utility, tensions which have added heat to the disagreement between Nabbanja and Nankabirwa
The standoff has exposed an unusual divergence at the top of government, and as the electricity sector navigates its post-Umeme transition, the country will be watching closely to see whose position carries the day. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
