In an interview with Daily Monitor in 2019, Dr. Racheal Mbabazi, then working as a veterinary doctor at the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) in Entebbe, said there is only one thing she can’t do without: prayer.
“I rise up at 5am to do my morning devotion and prayer,” she said adding that on Sundays, she can’t miss church.
Mbabazi then was highly educated vet who oversaw more than 300 animals at UWEC.
Today, Mbabazi, who has since become a senior manager at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), is under investigation for allegedly extorting Shs 47 million from an 87-year-old conservation investor, Hajj Isaac Mulindwa.
This is how it started. In May 2023, Mulindwa applied for a license from UWA to receive 100 wild animals. Mulindwa who wanted to put them to his 640-acre ranch at Busikili, Matugga.
After thorough verification of his papers and inspection of his farm, he was granted the license after paying UWA $8000 and but Mbabazi told him he had to pay extra money to transport the animals to his farm. He agreed and proceeded to look for the money. When he got it, he wanted to deposit it in UWA’s bank account.
Dr Mbabazi told him not to be a “fala”. “Why don’t you send part of the money to my private bank account and the other to my mobile money number, in bits?”
Mulindwa thought this was a brilliant idea and started making payments as he demanded for the animals. After paying a total of Shs 47 million on Mbabazi’s MM line over a period of two years, only 31 of the agreed 100 animals were delievered.
He started pressing Mbabazi, the prayerful woman told him to wait. He pressed again for the animals, she decided to ignore him like a missed call. The good thing is that he had a record of transactions showing the money had been sent to her bank account and MM line.
This prompted Mulindwa to contact Col Edith Nakalema, the head of the State House Investors Protection Unit, who swung into action. Her team arrested Mbabazi and quizzed her.
“This is not only abuse of office but also a criminal act. It is unacceptable for a public officer to receive money in their personal account while seated in a government office,” Nakalema said
Nakalema said Dr Mbabazi kept on making unreasonable demands from Mulindwa.
“This case shows how a single officer, acting without oversight, can frustrate a government-supported investment for nearly two years. If an 87-year-old national hero can be extorted, there could be many other silent victims,” she said.
UWA’s Director for Biodiversity Management, John Makombo, apologized to the public and the investor.
“This was an individual action. It should not tarnish the image of the institution,” Makombo said.
The case has been taken over by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit for further investigation.
Meanwhile, UWA has also launched internal disciplinary proceedings against Mbabazi, who remains suspended.
