By Mukembo Wilfred
The Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate, Racheal Nakyazze, has granted bail to several Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) officials accused of corruption and causing financial loss amounting to more than Shs 9.3 billion.
The officials were arrested last week following interrogations at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) headquarters over their alleged involvement in a large-scale chimpanzee and gorilla permit fraud scheme said to have taken place between 2020 and 2023.
They were later charged before the Anti-Corruption Court with corruption, causing financial loss, and conspiracy to defraud the government.
Earlier today, nine of the 11 accused were released on bail after presenting sureties and local council letters. The remaining two will appear in court later due to delayed document submissions. Bail conditions include cash payments, surrendering land titles and passports, and restrictions on foreign travel. The case will return to court on November 11, 2025.
Investigations indicate that the suspects manipulated the GoChimp digital permit system to issue over 8,400 fake permits for chimpanzee and gorilla tracking activities. The fraudulent permits allegedly granted unauthorized access to protected tourism sites such as Nyakagezi, Ruhija, Nkuringo, Rushaga, Buhoma, Kyambura, and Kanyanchu—causing losses exceeding Shs 8.7 billion.
Among those granted bail are ICT Manager Alfred Emmanuel Ndikusooka, Senior Warden Accounts Robert Maani, Director of Finance and Administration Jimmy Mugisa, Warden Software Developer Gilbert Mwesigwa, former Head of Reservations Leslie Muhindo, and Director of Tourism and Business Development Stephen Sanya Masaba, among others.
