By Our Reporter
Jenifer Bamuturaki Musiime is on her way out of Uganda Airlines after a turbulent and controversial tenure that has left the national carrier bruised, politically exposed and under intense public scrutiny. Whether her exit comes with a shamed face or a sigh of relief depends on who you ask, but there is little doubt that her near five-year stay at the helm has ended badly.
On Monday, Bamuturaki circulated an internal message to staff informing them that the position of Chief Executive Officer would soon be advertised. “The Board will advertise the post of Chief Executive Officer shortly, and you are all encouraged to apply if you meet the required qualifications,” the message read. For many inside the airline, the communication was the clearest signal yet that her days at the carrier are numbered.
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By Our Reporter
Jenifer Bamuturaki Musiime is on her way out of Uganda Airlines after a turbulent and controversial tenure that has left the national carrier bruised, politically exposed and under intense public scrutiny. Whether her exit comes with a shamed face or a sigh of relief depends on who you ask, but there is little doubt that her near five-year stay at the helm has ended badly.
On Monday, Bamuturaki circulated an internal message to staff informing them that the position of Chief Executive Officer would soon be advertised. “The Board will advertise the post of Chief Executive Officer shortly, and you are all encouraged to apply if you meet the required qualifications,” the message read. For many inside the airline, the communication was the clearest signal yet that her days at the carrier are numbered.
Bamuturaki has served as CEO for close to five years, including a long stretch in an acting capacity, presiding over a period marked by aggressive expansion plans, mounting losses and recurring governance questions. Uganda Airlines, which was relaunched in 2019 after more than a decade of dormancy, had been positioned as a strategic national asset meant to boost tourism, trade and regional connectivity. Instead, it has struggled to translate that ambition into financial stability.
Her administration has faced at least three major investigations. In 2024, the Parliamentary Committee on State Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) launched a probe following sustained losses reported by the airline. According to the Auditor General, Uganda Airlines posted a loss of 237.8 billion shillings in the 2023/2024 financial year, attributed to mismanagement, undue over-payments and high aircraft maintenance costs.
Last month, another investigation was opened jointly by the Criminal Investigations Department and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, focusing on alleged mismanagement, corruption and abuse of office. This probe has been running alongside an internal inquiry by the Board of Directors, which summoned Bamuturaki and her management team to respond to allegations ranging from procurement malpractices to decisions said to have caused heavy financial damage to the company.
Sources familiar with the State House investigation say it was triggered by a high-level meeting chaired by President Yoweri Museveni in September last year. At that meeting, Bamuturaki reportedly failed to convincingly explain the airline’s underperformance, prompting an angry response from the president and effectively sealing her fate.
During the COSASE hearings, Bamuturaki and her team defended themselves by pointing to external pressures, including high global jet fuel prices, aircraft leasing costs incurred while expanding the fleet, difficulties in sourcing spare parts and heavy depreciation expenses. Lawmakers, however, were unconvinced, arguing that management procured outdated aircraft without adequately considering the long-term maintenance burden.
Additional allegations included a “ticket scam” involving an internal syndicate that allegedly led to losses of about USD 253,189, as well as violations of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act, embezzlement and general abuse of office. Over the past year, the media has been awash with reports of persistent mismanagement, steadily eroding confidence in Bamuturaki’s leadership.
Flight disruptions over recent months worsened the situation. Passengers complained of delays stretching from hours into days, cancellations without explanation and a near total breakdown in communication. The Board demanded explanations for the silence toward stranded passengers and asked management to present detailed data on disruptions, affected passengers and the financial cost of those failures.
An official at the airline interpreted Bamuturaki’s circular to staff as both a tip-off to potential successors and an attempt to manage internal fallout ahead of her departure. The same official suggested that her exit could come alongside changes in other senior management positions.
Speculation has already turned to who might replace her. Some sources say the decision may already have been made, with the name of veteran Ethiopian aviation executive Girma Wake circulating in aviation and government circles. Wake, born in 1943, served as Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines from 2004 to 2011, overseeing a period of rapid growth that transformed the airline into Africa’s most successful carrier. He later served as chairman of its board in 2022 and 2023. Any formal appointment at Uganda Airlines, however, remains unconfirmed.
Journalist and businessman Andrew Mwenda, who is also considered an insider in government circles, welcomed Bamuturaki’s exit in characteristically blunt terms on his X account. “I would like to thank President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni for finally saving Uganda Airlines by firing its corrupt and incompetent CEO,” Mwenda wrote in a widely shared statement. He also credited the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, saying his intervention was decisive. Mwenda argued that Uganda Airlines needs a completely new and more competent board, proposed Girma Wake as chairman, and suggested that the current Ethiopian Airlines CEO, whose contract reportedly ends in June, could take over as CEO in Entebbe.
“Today is a day for Ugandans to celebrate,” Mwenda added, calling for the reinstatement of staff who were allegedly unfairly dismissed and accountability for those he said colluded with management to swindle the airline.
As Uganda Airlines braces for leadership change, the broader question remains what comes next for a carrier that has consumed billions of shillings in public funds while struggling to meet public expectations. For now, Bamuturaki’s exit marks the end of one chapter, but the harder work of restoring confidence, fixing governance and making the airline commercially viable still lies ahead.
