The appointment of Girma Wake, the legendary former CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, as the interim head of Uganda Airlines in early 2026 is being hailed by many Ugandans as a ‘rescue mission’ for the national carrier.
However, the 82-year-old aviation veteran is not just walking into a cockpit; he is stepping into a crime scene of sorts that has attracted scrutiny from the Auditor General, Inspector General of Government, Parliament and, lately, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Behind the glossy livery of the Airbus A330-800neos lies a sobering reality of systemic rot, documented in a trail of Auditor General reports, parliamentary probes, and high-profile leadership scandals that have cost the Ugandan taxpayer over Shs1 trillion in accumulated losses.
Auditor General’s Grim Report on Billions Lost
The Auditor General’s Report for the Financial Year 2023/24 and the subsequent special audits tabled in early 2026 paint a picture of an airline bleeding cash through both operational inefficiencies and outright fraud.
Staggering Losses
According to the Report, the airline posted a net loss of Shs237.8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year alone. While this was a slight improvement from the Shs323.6 billion losses in 2023, the total accumulated losses since the 2019 relaunch now exceed Shs1.02 trillion.
The ‘Phony Ticketing’ Racket
Internal audits and parliamentary probes have uncovered a sophisticated ticketing fraud. In one instance, nearly 908 passengers travelled on tickets worth Shs982 million that never appeared in the airline’s reported revenue. This should have raised alarms long before the President got involved to crack the whip on Jeniffer Bamuturaki, the outgoing CEO.
Inflated Procurement
Investigations by the CID and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit in early 2026 are currently scrutinising the procurement of Boeing aircraft and the construction of airline offices, with allegations of embezzlement and false accounting totalling billions of shillings.
The Ssenyonyi Report as a Case Study in Suppressed Accountability
In 2022, the Committee on Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), then chaired by Joel Ssenyonyi, conducted a comprehensive probe into the airline. The findings were explosive, yet the report became a symbol of political interference.
Ssenyonyi’s report spotlighted gross mismanagement under former CEO Bamuturaki, including the payment of Shs156 million to online bloggers to “burnish her reputation.”
“I get the feeling that Uganda Airlines is trying to run away from scrutiny…” Ssenyonyi said in response to a letter from the Uganda Airlines board requesting that COSASE continue investigating their operations without the press, following a directive from Speaker Among to that effect.
Ssenyonyi late noted that, “If Uganda Airlines is to thrive, they have to be accountable. Shs1.6 Trillion has been injected, but that money has got to show value for it.”
However, despite the gravity of the findings, Speaker Anita Among effectively shelved the report. She ruled that the findings had been “leaked by insiders” and refused to allow a full debate on the floor of Parliament. This, observers contend, could have worked to cover up even more rot at Uganda Airlines, hence the current developments.
It is important to note that instead of a targeted parliamentary debate that could lead to prosecutions, the Speaker directed that the Uganda Airlines report be bundled with over 100 other Auditor General reports for “omnibus consideration,” effectively diluting its impact and shielding the culprits.
Leadership Wrangles and Multimillion Lawsuits
Uganda Airlines has been plagued by a ‘revolving turbulence’ of leadership, often characterised by humiliating exits and costly legal battles, which are partly crippling the company. Some of these include the exit of former CEO Cornwell Muleya.
Bamuturaki’s predecessor, Muleya, was similarly suspended and later dismissed amid corruption probes. Muleya challenged his dismissal in court, winning a substantial compensation package that added yet another financial burden to the struggling carrier.
Can Girma Wake ‘The Aviation King’ Fix the Crane?
Wake’s arrival marks a desperate attempt to ‘de-politicise’ the airline. His mandate is not just to find a substantive CEO, but to dismantle the patronage networks that have turned the national carrier into a ‘cash cow’ for political insiders. Indeed, there are allegations of some politicians and government officials who have travelled to various destinations around the world aboard the Uganda Airlines but whose travel bills remain unsettled to date.
Hence, if Wake is to succeed where others have failed, he must address the three pillars of the rot:
Independence: Insulating the airline from State House and Parliamentary interference.
Compliance: Enforcing the remittance of passenger taxes and cleaning up the procurement of fuel and aircraft spares.
Professionalism: Replacing political appointees with aviation experts who understand that a national airline is a business, not a sovereign hobby.
It’s thus apt to assert that the ‘Crane’ is currently flying on one engine. Girma Wake’s task is to ensure it doesn’t fall out of the sky before the expiry of his tenure.