President Yoweri Museveni has ordered a dramatic leadership shake-up at Uganda Airlines, directing that the national carrier’s embattled chief executive officer, Jennifer Bamuturaki, “step aside immediately”.
In a letter to Works and Transport Minister Katumba Wamala dated February 13, Mr Museveni, who alluded to “leadership and management weaknesses”, said he had appointed veteran aviation executive Girma Wake as a consultant and advisor to the airline.
Mr Museveni said Mr Wake, who has previously worked as Ethiopian Airlines CEO, will also serve as acting CEO.
“I hereby direct that you go ahead and appoint Mr. Girma Wake as a Consultant/Advisor to assist in rectifying a number of management weaknesses in the airline,” the president wrote.
“Mr Girma Wake will work hand in hand with the Board until a substantive Chief Executive Officer is appointed,” wrote Mr Museveni, adding that the process should be completed by July 2026, “as I had agreed with Ramadhan”.
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It is not clear if Mr Museveni was referring to Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance.
Although the board is mandated to oversee the appointment of the CEO, Mr Museveni has effectively taken over the hiring of the airline’s most senior executive.
He ordered the appointment of Ms Bamuturaki, who had been sacked as Uganda Airlines commercial director, right in the middle of the recruitment process for a new CEO. Ms Bamuturaki did not apply for the job.
A parliamentary committee investigating mismanagement at the airline later discovered that she did not have the requisite qualifications listed in the HR manual and that she had appointed a commercial director named Regina Tebasiima, who had only an A-Level certificate.
Ms Bamuturaki has been the airline’s third CEO after Ephraim Bagenda and Cornwell Muleya, a Zambian national who was fired and sued for wrongful dismissal, winning damages totalling shs455m.
The search for the new CEO got off to a rocky start after the board published the vacancy notice on the airline’s website without stating qualifications and experience.
Priscilla Mirembe Serukka, the board chairperson, later told OJ-UGANDA in an interview that the omission was an error, which has since been corrected.
In his letter, the president further ordered that Ms Bamuturaki hand over immediately to Mr Wake and the board, while directing that arrangements be made for any benefits due to her.
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OUR READERS OFTEN ASK
“The current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms. Jenifer Bamuturaki, be enabled to step aside immediately and hand over to Mr. Girma Wake and the Board,” Mr Museveni said.
The intervention marks one of the most direct presidential actions yet in the management of the state-owned carrier, which has faced scrutiny over governance, finances, and operational performance since its revival in 2019.
Mr Wake, a respected figure in African aviation circles, is expected to stabilise management and guide the search for a permanent CEO as the government seeks to strengthen the airline’s operations and credibility.
The Works and Transport Ministry had not immediately issued a public response to the directive at the time of reporting.
CORRECTION | Updated February 27, 2026, 13:21: An earlier version of this article misspelled the first name of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance. It is Ramathan, not Ramadhan.
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