KAMPALA — The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has strengthened its internal security controls following incidents involving the reported loss of laptops and fraudulent payments, Governor Michael Atingi-Ego has told Parliament.
Atingi-Ego said the central bank had reviewed its controls and addressed identified weaknesses to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
He made the remarks on Monday, September 7, 2026, while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), chaired by Hon. Muwada Nkunyingi.
Nkunyingi questioned the Governor on measures taken to safeguard the central bank and restore public confidence following reports of security breaches at its headquarters.
“We have looked at them, and where there are any perceived weaknesses, we have strengthened them. And we are confident in that,” Atingi-Ego said.
The Governor, however, rejected the description of one of the incidents as a hacking incident, saying it involved fraudulent payments.
“First of all, can I correct you? There was no hacking in Bank of Uganda. There were fraudulent payments,” he said.
Atingi-Ego declined to disclose details of the additional controls introduced, saying publicly revealing them could expose the bank to further security risks.
“Chair, we cannot share our controls because the bad boys are out there. They will know what our controls are,” he said.
He added that the details could instead be provided to the committee in a closed session.
The exchange came as COSASE scrutinised BoU’s financial statements and audit matters for the financial year ended June 30, 2025.
Atingi-Ego told the committee that the Auditor General had issued an unmodified, or clean, audit opinion on the bank’s financial statements.
He said the opinion indicated that the financial statements presented a true and fair view of the bank’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows.
The Governor said the two key audit matters identified by the Auditor General — expected credit losses on financial assets, and litigation and contractual claims — did not result in a qualification of the audit opinion.
The committee also raised concerns over loan terms, recovery charges, alleged manipulation of customers’ accounts and limited access to BoU’s complaint-resolution mechanisms.
Nkunyingi criticised the reliance on customer complaint boxes, describing it as “a lacklustre response” to concerns raised by members of the public.
He called on BoU to establish a more accessible mechanism through which customers could directly submit complaints and have them addressed.
Hon. Eliab Naturinda, MP for Ndorwa County West, also challenged the central bank to take a stronger regulatory approach towards commercial banks accused of mistreating customers.
He further called for stronger regulation of money lending conducted through mobile money platforms.
The committee questioned BoU officials on measures to protect borrowers from unfavourable loan terms and aggressive debt-recovery practices.
Nkunyingi cited complaints received by the committee alleging that some financial institutions deduct recovery costs and bailiff fees from customers’ accounts while the underlying loans remain outstanding.
“You will find a customer who borrowed Shs5 million being charged Shs20 million for recovery, and it went to a bailiff, but the loan is still existing,” he said.
He asked BoU to demonstrate “practical and tangible efforts” to protect financial consumers and investigate such practices.
Responding on behalf of BoU’s Executive Director for Supervision, Hannington Wasswa said the central bank had issued consumer protection guidelines requiring financial institutions to provide borrowers with a key facts document.
The document is expected to provide information including the applicable interest rate, repayment frequency, collateral requirements and repayment schedule.
The engagement formed part of Parliament’s scrutiny of BoU’s financial management, audit findings and regulatory responsibilities.