President Museveni’s long-simmering anger toward Uganda Airlines Chief Executive Officer Jenifer Bamuturaki finally erupted in a shocking State House showdown last September, where the furious President ordered her out of a high-level meeting — effectively ending her reign at the national carrier.
Multiple sources say Museveni was livid.
“Go away. I don’t want to see you,” the President barked.
“Leave, you. Go away,” he added, cutting short the meeting as stunned officials watched Bamuturaki walk out.
That explosive moment, insiders say, sealed her fate.
Museveni Snaps
The closed-door State House meeting in September 2025 was meant to explain away Uganda Airlines’ growing problems. Instead, it exposed how deep the rot had gone.
Museveni had summoned the airline’s Board and top management to account for mounting losses, disputed aircraft deals, missing revenue and repeated audit alarms. What he got were explanations he clearly wasn’t buying.
“He felt they were playing games,” one official said. “The same questions, the same excuses — and billions still missing.”
By the time Museveni ordered Bamuturaki out, his confidence in her leadership had completely collapsed.
Quiet Axe Falls
Although State House did not immediately announce her removal, the message was clear: she was finished.
Museveni later refused to approve any extension of her contract and instructed the Board to advertise the CEO position — a silent but deadly move.
This week, Bamuturaki confirmed it herself.
In an internal email to staff on Monday, she announced that the Board would soon advertise the CEO job, openly inviting employees to apply — a rare public admission that her exit is inevitable.
“The Board will advertise the position of Chief Executive Officer shortly,” she wrote.
Police Storm the Cockpit
As Museveni cooled off, investigators heated up.
On January 7, 2026, the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) fired off a bombshell letter to Uganda Airlines, demanding piles of financial and procurement records. The letter was copied to the State House Anti-Corruption Unit — a clear warning that this is no routine audit.
CID is probing abuse of office, embezzlement of funds and false accounting.
Among the documents demanded:
- Boeing aircraft procurement approvals
- Fuel and aircraft leasing contracts
- Ticketing agency records
- Banking statements and cash receipts
- Internal audit reports
- Spending tied to the troubled London route
Shs35 Billion Vanishes
The audits that enraged Museveni reveal jaw-dropping numbers.
More than $9.2 million (about Shs35 billion) in passenger service fees continued to be charged long after management scrapped the levy in July 2023. Auditors found no evidence the money was ever banked.
In plain language: billions collected — and then vanished.
Ticketing was another red flag. Agencies linked to airline staff — including Nyanza Tours and Travel — controlled over 90% of heavily discounted tickets, bleeding revenue and raising serious conflict-of-interest questions.
Fuel procurement and aircraft leasing contracts were also dragged into the spotlight — adding to the President’s fury.
Why Museveni Blew Up
Officials say the outburst was inevitable.
Uganda Airlines, relaunched in 2019 as a flagship national project, has swallowed billions in taxpayer cash. Museveni had been warned repeatedly by auditors and technocrats — but nothing changed.
“By September, the President had had enough,” one senior official said. “This wasn’t incompetence anymore. It looked like systematic failure.”
Fall of a CEO
CID investigations are ongoing, and no arrests have yet been made. Bamuturaki and Uganda Airlines have remained largely silent.
But politically, the verdict is already in.
Museveni’s anger has claimed another high-profile scalp — and Uganda Airlines now faces a brutal reckoning as investigators chase the money, the decisions, and the people behind them.
The message from State House was unmistakable:
When the President says “Go away,” the flight is over.
