President Yoweri Museveni has moved to stabilise Uganda Airlines by engaging veteran Ethiopian aviation executive Girma Wake to temporarily run the national carrier, signalling a decisive push to restore professional management and tighten governance at the loss-making airline.
Wake, 82, met Museveni at State House Entebbe on Wednesday, where the two discussed his interim role at Uganda Airlines, just days after the airline formally advertised the position of Chief Executive Officer following the exit of Jenifer Bamuturaki, whose contract expired in July last year and was not renewed.
The meeting, confirmed by a senior State House official who declined to divulge details, comes amid mounting scrutiny of Uganda Airlines over financial mismanagement, weak controls, and operational disruptions flagged in multiple audit reports.
Although the newly advertised CEO position requires applicants to be above 60 years of age, Wake will serve as an interim executive and consultant, while also participating in the process to identify a substantive chief executive.
His appointment is subject to vetting, which is expected to take place next week.
A separate source familiar with the discussions said Wake is expected to function both as Chairman and Chief Executive, at least in the interim, as government seeks to arrest the airline’s decline and rebuild confidence among regulators, financiers and passengers.
Wake’s entry marks the most direct presidential intervention yet in the management of Uganda Airlines, which has struggled to balance political expectations with commercial sustainability since its revival.
A former Chief Executive of Ethiopian Airlines, Wake is widely credited with helping transform the carrier into Africa’s most successful airline, making him one of the continent’s most respected aviation professionals.
His involvement follows a series of damaging revelations surrounding Uganda Airlines. A special audit and the latest Auditor General’s report exposed serious weaknesses in revenue management, fuel procurement, cash handling at foreign stations, and contract administration. Among the findings was the failure to bank USD 103,491.70 (about Shs 380 million) collected at the airline’s Juba office, as well as questionable fuel payments and penalties running into millions of dollars.
Operational challenges have compounded the financial strain. Recently, Uganda Airlines’ Airbus A330neo was grounded in London for nearly a week, disrupting flights and forcing some passengers to rebook on rival airlines at their own cost.
While management attributed the disruption to technical issues involving aircraft tyres, the incident deepened public concern about the airline’s preparedness and internal controls.
Behind the scenes, sources say Museveni has grown increasingly dissatisfied with the airline’s leadership. In a September State House meeting convened to discuss Bamuturaki’s contract extension, the President reportedly declined to hear submissions from management, having already received adverse information, including audit findings. He subsequently directed that the CEO position be openly advertised and recommended a broader overhaul of top management.
That directive has since triggered a quiet exit of several senior officials, with positions being prepared for open recruitment. Museveni is also understood to have questioned the continued hiring of foreign executives where qualified Ugandans could fill senior roles.
The decision to bring in Wake is therefore seen as both a stop-gap measure and a reset signal buying time as government reassesses the airline’s leadership model, while anchoring the transition in professional aviation experience rather than political accommodation.
For a national carrier that has absorbed nearly Shs 2 trillion in government funding yet continues to post annual losses exceeding Shs 230 billion, Wake’s interim stewardship could prove pivotal. Whether it translates into lasting reform, however, will depend on how far government is willing to go in insulating Uganda Airlines from the governance failures that have plagued it since take-off.
