Parliament has directed the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) to submit the academic credentials of its top management team to enable legislators verify whether senior officials were recruited in accordance with the law.
The directive followed concerns raised by MPs on the committee on Physical Infrastructure after UCAA disclosed that dozens of employees had been dismissed for using forged academic documents to secure employment at the authority.
The committee, chaired by Mbarara City South MP Mwine Mpaka, issued the directive during a meeting with UCAA officials at Parliament.
Appearing before the committee, UCAA Deputy Director General Olive Birungi Lumonya said the authority had implemented a presidential directive to investigate employees suspected of presenting forged academic qualifications.
Lumonya told MPs that 152 employees had initially been interdicted pending investigations.
She said the investigations established that 87 employees had been recruited using fake academic documents and had since been dismissed.
“The said employees were investigated and have since been terminated,” Lumonya told the committee.
Despite the explanation, committee members said the verification exercise should not stop with junior staff and demanded that the qualifications of senior managers also be scrutinised.
Lyantonde County MP Guma Gumisiriza said Parliament needed to establish whether the authority’s top leadership had also met the required academic standards before being appointed.
“The issue of academic qualifications is not something we should compromise on. We need to see the academic qualifications of the Director General as well so that we understand how he was recruited,” Gumisiriza said.
Bunyole West MP James Waluswaka questioned whether the investigations had been comprehensive enough.
“If more than 80 people were fraudulently recruited, why not investigate all the officers to eliminate any doubt?” Waluswaka asked.
In response, Lumonya said UCAA had strengthened its verification process after the forgery scandal emerged.
She said all members of the top management team had undergone verification of their academic documents through the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB).
“Following the discovery of the forged documents, all top management staff had their academic credentials verified by UNEB,” she said.
Lumonya added that most of the forged documents uncovered during the investigations were Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) certificates.
Committee chairperson Mwine Mpaka directed UCAA to submit the academic qualifications and recruitment documents of all members of the authority’s top management by the close of business the following day.
“The committee has instructed you to submit the qualifications and recruitment records of all top management staff not later than close of business tomorrow,” Mpaka directed.
During the same meeting, UCAA assured Parliament that preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which Uganda will co-host with Kenya and Tanzania, were on course.
Lumonya said the authority was expanding and improving airport infrastructure and operational capacity to ensure it can efficiently handle the expected increase in passenger traffic during the tournament.
“On AFCON, I want to confirm that we shall be ready to receive all our visitors,” Lumonya assured the committee.
