In an unprecedented move, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) has “profoundly” apologised to its former managing director, Dr Rama Makuza, over the manner in which it terminated his contract in 2017.
In a statement in The New Vision of November 20, 2025, UCAA wrote that it “acknowledges the distress and inconvenience Dr Makuza experienced because of his termination from employment and subsequent events.”
“The authority sincerely apologises to Dr Makuza for the negative reports relating to his termination,” read the notice.
It is not clear why the UCAA has decided to come out and apologise to Makuza, eight years after he was sacked unceremoniously.
However, what is clear, according to sources at UCAA, is that many people were not happy with the manner in which Dr Makuza, who had worked at the authority for 26 years, was treated internally by some people.
Dr Makuza was “chased” from the Authority like a chicken thief, with eight months left to retire. He was replaced by Fred Bamwesigye, who was the director of Human Resources at the authority.
Makuza’s dispute with UCAA started after the board carried out a performance assessment in early 2017 and claimed that Makuza had “serious performance gaps which had grossly hindered the smooth running of the organisation.”
The then Minister of Works and Transport, Monica Azuba Ntege, issued a termination letter.
Mukuza took the authority to court and argued that the termination was “malicious, high-handed, arbitrary, callous, and outrightly illegal.”
He said the board never informed him of any weaknesses, he was never given a chance to defend himself, and he was locked out of the office without warning.
He also said the media publicity that followed, which stated that he had been sacked because of incompetence and scandals, damaged his reputation.
He won the case, and last year, the court awarded him Shs 625.6 million in general damages, based on his monthly salary and the eight remaining months of his contract.
It also awarded aggravated damages because of the humiliation he suffered, the way he was locked out of the office, and the damaging media reports.
Given the above context, UCAA’s apology seems strange. Bbeg Media shall dig deeper to understand its timing and cause.
