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Some members of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UNCCI) have lodged a complaint with the Inspector General of Government (IGG) and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) alleging that some of their bosses illegally presided over the sale of the chamber’s main property in the city.
The president of UNCCI is Olive Kigongo, wife of Hajji Moses Kigongo, vice president of the Nigeria Resistance Movement (NRM).
They spoke about a strange sale of a property tagged as Plot 1A Kira Road Mulago where the Chamber of Commerce once had its headquarters.
The complaint filed with the IGG and CID reads in part: “Some co-opted board members presided over the sale of these properties without complying with the guidelines of Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) such as announcing and selecting the highest bidder.”
“The loss from the sale of these properties is estimated at UGX12.7 billion. This includes the sale of properties located in Nakivubo, Johnson Street, Lira, Buziga, Natete, Kanjokya and others.”
The complaint was registered as GEF136/2024 and concerns abuse of power at the Kira Road police station and the operation to combat the racket was led by the chairman of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Mbale, Barnabas Kisa.
The fight to investigate the chamber boss was sparked by the sale of the chamber’s headquarters at Plot 1A, Kira Road, Mulago for $1.2 million (about 4.5 billion Uganda shillings). However, in a complaint to the CID, IGG and State House, Kisa claimed that only $800,000 (about 3.1 billion Uganda shillings) was declared.
The irregularities forced the resignation of some of the incoming board members: Ms. Margret Sekidde of Seroma Enterprise and Ms. Charlotte of Centenary Park.
They say enough is enough and now they want the Office of the IGI and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) to come to the rescue and save the sinking ship of UNCCI.
It is understood that the morale of the Chamber of Commerce is low and the atmosphere is bad. The most aggrieved are some district/city chairmen.
UNCCI’s governance structure includes 10 regional offices and branches across Uganda.
The Chamber’s District/City Chairman has now called for elections after Olive Kigongo held the office for 22 years.
“We hold the chairman, Olive Kigongo, and the board members accountable for the sale of Plot 1A, Mulagokila Road, the former headquarters and other properties of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” Kissa said in a complaint to IGG.
Members have reported abuse of power and corruption by the board chairman, Olive Kigongo, and board members to the state House’s anti-corruption unit.
The complainant added: “Our primary concern is to revitalize and rebuild the Chamber to serve the interests of the national business community.”
Twenty-two years ago, Olive Kigongo succeeded the late Boni Katatumba as the first elected female president of the Uganda National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Although the bylaws state that the organization’s leadership is elected by vote at an annual shareholder meeting every five years, they claim this has never happened and that board members are complicit.
“We demand that the chamber’s president and board members hold elections and resign. We have witnessed a decline in chamber activities and business community mobilisation across the country,” they claimed.
The whistleblower also raised concerns about management and operations, including a lack of transparency and accountability regarding cash contributions to member funds or partner organizations, sales of chamber property and distribution of proceeds.
We have contacted the IGG office for comment and the Ombudsman’s spokesperson Ali Munira also confirmed the development to the media.
“We have received the complaint and we will study it and investigate,” Munira told local media on Thursday.
The Uganda Chamber of Commerce and Industry is Uganda’s oldest national private sector organization.
Its main objective is to promote and protect the interests of the business community, in particular its members representing all sectors of the economy.
The various sectors include internal and external trade, industry, tourism, transport and services.
The Chamber has a network of regional chamber branches in more than 126 regions across the country.
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