A diplomatic controversy has arisen involving Uganda’s State Minister for Investment, Evelyn Anite, who is accused of fabricating claims about meetings with British High Commissioner to Uganda regarding the Kampala Industrial and Business Park (KIBP) infrastructure development project at Namanve.
In a diplomatic note dated July 31, the British High Commission expressed concern over Minister Anite’s misrepresentation of the UK envoy. The note clarified that no meeting had taken place between the British High Commissioner, H.E. Kate Airey OBE, and Minister Anite regarding the Namanve project.
This note, addressed to Foreign Affairs Minister Gen Jeje Odongo, emphasized the need for accurate representations of such diplomatic engagements.
“The British High Commission has also received press inquiries in relation to reports of a meeting between the British High Commissioner, H.E. Kate Airey OBE, and the Minister of State for Investment Hon. Evelyn Anite, regarding the Namanve project. The British High Commission… wishes to clarify to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that no such meeting has taken place,” the note stated.
The high commissioner has requested a face-to-face meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to discuss any issues related to the matter.
This development complicates an ongoing dispute involving Minister Anite and officials at the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA), including Director General Robert Mukiza.
The conflict centers on honorarium and price variation payments for the KIBP infrastructure development project.
During a June 11 meeting between UIA top management and the board, chaired by Minister Anite, she ordered the top officials at the agency to refund honorarium payments totaling Shs 545 million. Anite claimed during the meeting that she had met with British High Commissioner and UKEF officials, who pressured her to demand the refund of these payments.
In a July 3 letter to Mukiza, Anite reiterated that the honorarium payments must be returned. However, in a July 23 reply, Mukiza accused the minister of manipulating the issue to provoke public outrage against the agency for ulterior motives.
Mukiza asserted that Anite’s allegations about UKEF’s demand for a refund of honorarium payments and the cessation of price variation payments to the contractor for the Namanve project were unfounded. He pointed out that the issues in question had already been addressed with guidance from President Museveni.
Mukiza wrote, “I find that your story of meeting the British High Commissioner to discuss the day-to-day issues of the Namanve project management not adding up, inaccurate, false, and misleading.” He further accused Anite of lying about the meeting and her interactions with UKEF concerning honoraria and payment variations. Mukiza challenged the minister’s integrity, noting that she often claims she would resign if found lacking, suggesting she should consider following through on that promise.
The dispute between Anite and UIA management has been ongoing for two months. It began when Anite issued an ultimatum for certain UIA staff to refund up to Shs 545 million received as honorarium payments. This sum was part of the €219,482,727.15 (approximately Shs 871 billion) secured by the Ugandan government from UKEF on December 4, 2019, for the KIBP infrastructure development project. Anite interpreted the honorarium as corruption and demanded its return within 24 hours from June 12.
However, Mukiza and his team refused to refund the money, arguing that it was legally paid for additional work on the project, as approved by the board. Mr. Kyalimpa, who has since resigned as deputy director general, also insisted that the payment was legal and declined to return the funds. The UIA team emphasized that the honorarium was authorized by their board of directors and is stipulated in their human resource manual.
In a statement addressed to UIA’s chairman, Morrison Rwakakamba, dated June 14, 2024, Mukiza clarified that after the termination of the owner’s engineer (OE) on August 29, 2022, additional responsibilities were assigned to the Project Management Team (PMT), with assistance from some UIA staff, to fill the supervisory gap in the Kampala Industrial and Business Park infrastructure development.
President Museveni later convened a meeting at State House, where he indicated that he would make a final decision on the matter after consulting independent technical experts from the Ministry of Finance. However, following the meeting, Minister Evelyn Anite took to X (formerly Twitter), claiming pressure from UKEF and reiterated on X spaces that she was under pressure from development partners to ensure the honorarium was refunded.
Anite reportedly attempted to raise the issue at a recent Cabinet retreat but was silenced before leaving Kyankwanzi under a cloud of controversy. She has since announced that she is on leave in Canada. The minister couldn’t readily be reached for comment.
Additional reporting by The Observer