Under fire Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) executive director, Jolly Kaguhangire has been interdicted by Authority’s board of directors.

The board, sitting on its 51st meeting yesterday, June 26 in the UIA boardroom, resolved to interdict Kaguhangire for a period of three months starting June 26.

Kaguhangire was interdicted on grounds of abuse of office, insubordination, misleading and lying to the board, non compliance with implementation of the strategic plan, closure of office without authorisation, serious corruption allegations made against her by UIA staff among others.

In a letter signed by Dr Emely Kugonza, chairman UIA board of directors, Kaguhangire has been ordered to hand over office to Basil Ajer, director SME and STI.

A select committee has also been appointed to investigate the grounds of Kaguhangire’s interdiction. The interdiction comes just days after UIA staff petitioned the Inspector General of Government (IGG) against Kaguhangire, accusing her of ‘high level tribalism’, mismanagement, corruption, favouristism among other accusations.

They alleged that she has recruited ‘westerners’ as her personal assistant, executive assistant, and administrative assistant and all the drivers. They further allege that these are paid enormous salaries contrary that salary scales of the Authority.

“She has also brought in a group of interns who mostly hail from western Uganda. This kind of behaviour has led staff to believe that the real purpose of restructuring is to bring in her own people,” the staff allege in the petition.

Kaguhangire was appointed last year in April, months after the UIA board declined to renew Dr Frank Sebbowa’s contract after a whistle-blower alleged that he was involved in nepotistic tendencies, which saw many of his kith and kin recruited into the Authority.

Prior to her appointment as UIA head, Kaguhangire had worked with Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for 24 years, rising to the position of head of service management, where, she oversaw a number of innovations like the Integrated Tax Administration System as well as the Taxpayer Register Expansion Project.

Kugonza then described Kaguhangire; as a competent person whose track record of managing corporate business plans and reforms in URA is what UIA needed at the time when the investment body is implementing its 2016-2021 strategic plan.

“Jolly will be heading Uganda Investment Authority. She is the person the board was able to get out of so many. We did a two-search process and she emerged the best. Jolly is a highly competent person with vast experience in business development, investment issues.

She’s been working for a number of years with Uganda Investment Authority. She has had training at the best universities in this country, on the continent and beyond the continent.

She has exposure in many fields, she has interacted with investors so maybe this will be a new way to work with them and the board we’re deeply convinced that we have the best person that is going to take Uganda Investment Authority to the highest and best level as the best investment promotion agency in the world”, said Kugonza.