Parliament has ordered the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) to produce the academic credentials and recruitment records of its 13 senior managers amid growing scrutiny over the recruitment of employees who secured jobs using forged qualifications.
The directive was issued by the Committee on Physical Infrastructure after UCAA confirmed that 89 employees had been dismissed following investigations into fraudulent academic documents.
Appearing before the committee, UCAA Deputy Director General Olive Lumonya said the dismissed employees were found to have altered their Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) results or presented qualifications belonging to other individuals. The forged documents were verified by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), and the affected staff were dismissed after disciplinary hearings without receiving terminal benefits.
Lawmakers questioned how such employees were recruited into an institution responsible for regulating the country’s aviation sector and demanded accountability from the officials involved in the recruitment process.
Committee Chairperson Mwine Mpaka said the scandal had raised concerns about the integrity of UCAA’s recruitment system, asking how the public could be assured that the authority’s top leadership also met the required qualifications. The committee subsequently directed UCAA to submit the academic credentials and recruitment records of all 13 senior managers within 24 hours.
MPs also warned that employing unqualified personnel in aviation could compromise safety and expose the country to avoidable risks.
In the same meeting, UCAA revealed that it is yet to recover more than Shs233 billion in unpaid dues from the Government and Uganda Airlines. According to the authority, Shs91.6 billion of the outstanding amount is owed by the central government, with the arrears arising from airport services, including passenger service charges, aircraft parking fees and rental space at Entebbe International Airport.
The authority said it is engaging the Ministry of Works and Transport to secure payment of the outstanding debt.
