Uganda Airlines (UR, Entebbe) has found itself in the political crossfire in Kampala again, with opposition leader Joel Ssenyonyi publicly criticising parliamentary speaker Anita Annet Among for mishandling investigations into the state-owned carrier in 2022.

The probe by the Ugandan parliament's Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises (COSASE) between August and September 2022 revealed financial and operational irregularities at the airline at the time. When the report was tabled in January 2023, Among blocked its debate due to a leak to the media. Instead, she opted to adopt a report from the Auditor General, which provided a more conservative assessment of Uganda Airlines' financial troubles.

Now, Ssenyonyi - who is also COSASE chairman - has published a letter he claims Among wrote to him on August 22, 2022, in which she "guided" the committee to adopt closed-door proceedings during its investigations because of the "sensitivity of the matters under consideration and the potential ramifications on the operations" on Uganda Airlines.

Ssenyonyi said he disagreed with Among's "guidance" as he did not see any reason to shield the state-owned airline from public scrutiny. "We had been investigating all other entities publicly with the media present, so I didn't see why the corruption in Uganda Airlines shouldn't be exposed publicly," he said on his official social media platform. He claimed the speaker had met with Uganda Airlines CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki during the COSASE investigation, "which I didn't think was appropriate," he said. He accused Among of having covered up alleged corruption when she frustrated the tabling of the report.

"The report was uploaded onto the parliamentary system, and all 529 MPs accessed it, but the Speaker claimed that it [had] 'leaked'. Even if it had leaked, there is no law/rule that says [that] Parliament can't debate a committee report which leaked; after all, the investigations were all done publicly with the media present."

Among is one of several Ugandan politicians who are subject to United Kingdom and United States sanctions - including travel bans and asset freezes - after they were charged with corruption by Uganda's Anti-Corruption Court in connection with diverting resources for themselves and their families from a government-funded housing project for the poor.

ch-aviation has reached out to Uganda Airlines for comment.