KAMPALA — The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) Board and top management have agreed to cooperate with ongoing investigations into allegations of embezzlement, abuse of office, money laundering and institutional mismanagement, while seeking an opportunity to meet President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to present their side of the matter.
The resolution was announced by Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao in a statement issued on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, following a meeting with the URSB Board and top management.
Mao said the meeting was intended to brief the URSB leadership on measures he had taken following a July 24 directive from President Museveni, while ensuring that the agency’s statutory services continue without interruption.
“At the end of the meeting, we resolved that the Board and Management should cooperate with the ongoing investigations and also focus on ensuring institutional stability, bolstering staff morale and serving the many clients that need the services of the URSB,” Mao said.
He said he would work to strengthen the agency’s internal governance structures and ensure that lawful decisions of the Board are not undermined or disrupted.
Five URSB officials sent on leave
The minister said he had, following consultations with the URSB Board chairman and in line with the President’s directive, placed five senior officials on mandatory leave pending completion of investigations.
They are Registrar General Mercy K. Kainobwisho, Deputy Registrar General Alex Anganya, Commissioner for ICT and Innovation Arthur Kwesiga, Commissioner for Registration Services Gilbert Agaba, and Assistant Commissioner for Registration Services Walid Kule.
“The mandatory leave will continue until the investigations are complete,” Mao said.
The move follows a July 24 letter from President Museveni to Mao, in which the President directed that the officials named in the letter be sent on leave until an audit into URSB’s activities is completed.
Museveni’s letter accused the officials and the institution of “embezzlement of government funds, abuse of office and maladministration, money laundering and institutional mismanagement.”
The President directed the Inspector General of Government (IGG) to lead the investigations, assisted by State House auditors identified in the letter as Kawawa and Tumwiine.
He also directed the Principal Private Secretary to bring the URSB Board Chairman, Butagyira, to him.
The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs received the President’s letter on August 5, according to the minister’s statement.
Mao says Board was not heard
Mao said the ministry’s senior management discussed the URSB matter on August 12, following the President’s directive.
The meeting was attended by the Attorney General, Permanent Secretary, Solicitor General and Deputy Solicitor General.
According to Mao, the Attorney General told the meeting about the circumstances under which he escalated the matter to the President after it was brought to his attention by a senior URSB staff member.
Mao, however, raised concerns about the process through which the decisions were reached.
He said the decisions affecting the Board and management were taken without allowing them to be heard.
“I’m confident that the URSB’s record of performance and impact will ultimately exonerate it as an institution,” Mao said, adding that the Board and management would seek an opportunity to meet President Museveni “to tell their side of the story and to deal with any reputational risks facing the institution.”
The minister also argued that statutory bodies should be allowed to exercise their oversight and disciplinary responsibilities independently through their boards.
He said appeals should ordinarily be considered after the underlying process has been completed.
URSB defended as high-performing agency
Mao’s statement also sought to distinguish the allegations under investigation from URSB’s institutional record.
He described URSB as one of Uganda’s best-performing government agencies and said it is frequently used for regional benchmarking.
In April 2025, Mao said, Malawi’s then Minister of Justice Titus Edward Songiso Mvalo led a delegation on a four-day benchmarking visit to URSB.
He added that following his July 2026 meeting with Malawi’s current Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Charles Mhango on the sidelines of the World Intellectual Property Organisation meetings in Geneva, URSB is expected to send a team to assist Malawi’s Companies, Registrations and Intellectual Property Centre (CRIPC).
Mao said the centre was established following the earlier benchmarking exercise and launched in June 2026.
URSB also obtained ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System certification in March 2026, which Mao said recognised its standards in public service delivery, efficiency and client satisfaction.
The bureau, he added, has also been central to the implementation of Uganda’s amended copyright law and is preparing to launch a Copyright Management System developed following a presidential directive.
URSB’s role in anti-money laundering efforts
The minister further highlighted URSB’s role in Uganda’s efforts to strengthen its anti-money laundering framework.
Uganda was removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list on February 23, 2024, after reforms to address deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing systems.
Mao said URSB contributed to the process by working with other government agencies to update laws governing companies and partnerships and by ensuring beneficial ownership information could be accessed and monitored through the Financial Intelligence Authority.
He warned that the work must continue because Uganda is due to undergo a regional peer review by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG).
“The Board and Management have been directed to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigations, preserve and avail all institutional records, support all competent authorities of the state involved in the investigations in addition to ensuring that there’s uninterrupted delivery of statutory duties,” Mao said.
The investigation is therefore set to run alongside the agency’s normal operations, with URSB expected to continue providing registration and other statutory services while the authorities examine the allegations raised against its leadership.