What started as a bitter disagreement inside the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) has now grown into a much bigger government investigation, with President Yoweri Museveni ordering several senior officials to step aside as allegations of corruption and poor governance are examined.
The decision follows complaints raised by URSB Commissioner for Business Registration Gilbert Agaba, who accused officials within the institution of serious financial and administrative wrongdoing. The allegations include embezzlement of government funds, abuse of office, money laundering, irregular procurement, fraudulent registrations, weak financial controls and under-collection of revenue.
A State House letter dated July 24, 2026, shows that Museveni directed several senior URSB officials to go on leave until an audit of the Bureau is completed.
“This is to direct that the following persons go on leave until the audit I am instituting into the activities of URSB is finished,” Museveni said.
Among those affected are Registrar General Mercy Kainobwisho, Assistant Commissioner for Business Registration Walid Kule, Commissioner for ICT Arthur Kwesiga and Deputy Registrar General for Finance and Administration Alex Anganya.
The President also ordered the Inspector General of Government (IGG) to lead the investigation, with assistance from State House auditors Kawawa and Tumwine. He further directed his Principal Private Secretary to bring URSB Board Chairman Stephen Katenta Butagira to meet him.
Before Agaba’s allegations about corruption and financial management reached State House, he was already facing serious criticism from URSB management over his leadership of the Business Registration Department.
According to documents surrounding the dispute, management accused Agaba of poor communication, inadequate supervision, failure to hold departmental meetings and failure to implement or report back on some management decisions.
There were also complaints about his relationship with staff and the general level of teamwork within his department. Similar concerns had reportedly been raised during his earlier time as Commissioner for Intellectual Property.
Management initially tried to settle the matter internally. Senior officials reportedly counselled Agaba and attempted to improve communication and working relationships within the department. The Registrar General also intervened personally.
But the efforts did not resolve the disagreement, and the matter eventually moved into a formal disciplinary process.
As the disciplinary case against him progressed, Agaba turned the spotlight onto the institution itself.
He raised allegations of criminal conduct, corruption and misuse of URSB resources with the Board and later with outside authorities, including the Economic Crimes Division of the Uganda Police Force and the Office of the Attorney General.
His complaints included alleged inflation of contracts for ICT development and maintenance, alleged money laundering through the Non-Individual Register project, misappropriation of Bureau funds, irregular procurement, fraudulent registrations, weak internal controls and revenue leakages.
Agaba also argued that the disciplinary action against him came because he had raised these concerns. He questioned whether the process used against him was fair and said he believed the investigations leading to the warning were not conducted in good faith.
That changed the nature of the dispute.
What had initially looked like an internal disagreement between a senior manager and his bosses was now beginning to raise questions about the wider management of URSB
While Agaba was making allegations against management, the URSB Board was also pursuing concerns about his conduct.
At an extraordinary meeting on July 15, the Board considered complaints relating to his leadership and governance of the Business Registration Department.
The Board found concerns over teamwork and cohesion and noted that the department had reportedly not held a departmental meeting or retreat during the 2025/2026 financial year. It also accused Agaba of failing to implement and report on management decisions.
One of the more serious allegations was that Agaba had referred to the Registrar General as a criminal and alleged that she was running a criminal enterprise at URSB.
The Board did not recommend his dismissal. Instead, it ordered him to apologise and proposed a 12-month Performance Improvement Plan to address the concerns about his leadership.
Agaba rejected the findings and the proposed measures.
The dispute eventually reached Attorney General Sam Mayanja.
In a July 8, 2026 letter, Mayanja said Agaba had brought allegations of criminal activity at URSB to his attention and that the matter had been escalated to President Museveni.
Mayanja then directed the URSB Board to stop its investigations into Agaba and wait for guidance from the President.
The disciplinary case against Agaba was effectively put on hold, while attention shifted to the allegations he had raised against the institution.
On July 24, Museveni widened the matter even further.
His directive was no longer simply about Agaba’s conduct. It called for an audit into the wider activities of URSB, citing allegations of embezzlement, abuse of office, maladministration, money laundering and institutional mismanagement.
The order to send senior officials on leave was intended to allow the audit and investigations to proceed.
The inclusion of several members of the senior management team shows how far the controversy had spread.
The investigation will now have to look at the allegations raised by Agaba, but also examine the management decisions and disciplinary actions that preceded them.
The affected officials have reportedly not objected to being investigated. Their concern, instead, is about how the matter reached the President.
They argue that they were not given enough opportunity to present their side before the allegations were escalated to State House.
They have asked for the URSB Board Chairman to meet Museveni and explain the management’s position, while also seeking an opportunity to meet the IGG before the investigations proceed.
Management also maintains that it had already begun examining some of Agaba’s allegations through its internal audit structures.
The controversy has also exposed what sources describe as deep divisions within URSB’s top management.
Sources familiar with the institution say disagreements among senior officials had become increasingly difficult to manage, with tensions reportedly revolving around leadership, jobs, internal budgets and control of resources.
One source described a situation in which senior officials could barely agree during management meetings.
These claims, however, remain part of the competing accounts surrounding the dispute and will have to be tested by investigators.
On August 17, URSB finally confirmed that an audit was underway.
The Bureau said the exercise was being carried out according to established procedures and applicable laws. It also assured the public that its services had continued normally.
URSB said it remained committed to transparency, accountability and professionalism and would provide further information where appropriate after the process is completed.
The confirmation came after the Bureau had initially dismissed reports of an audit before later acknowledging that the exercise was indeed taking place.
For now, there are two very different stories emerging from URSB.
Agaba says he raised concerns about serious financial and governance problems and believes disciplinary action was taken against him after he spoke out.
Management, on the other hand, says Agaba had long-standing leadership and conduct problems that were being handled through the institution’s normal disciplinary procedures before he raised the wider allegations.
Both sides now face scrutiny.
The IGG-led investigation will have to determine whether the corruption and financial allegations are supported by evidence, whether URSB management committed any wrongdoing and whether the disciplinary case against Agaba was properly handled.
