President Yoweri Museveni has appointed 82 year old veteran aviation executive Girma Wake as the new Uganda Airlines Chief Executive Officer (CEO) replacing embattled Jenifer Bamuturaki who was sacked from the Job by President Museveni on Monday.
The appointment has been confirmed by the Minister of State for Youth and Children Affairs Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi in a post on his official X account on Thursday.
“President Kaguta Museveni has appointed an expatriate from Ethiopia as the new Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Airlines. Mr. Wake is widely regarded as one of the finest aviation minds on the African continent” Balaam posted.
The youth minister went to congratulate Girma who previously served as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines (2004–2011), where he played a pivotal role in transforming the carrier into the global powerhouse it is today.
On Wednesday President Yoweri Museveni met with Girma at State house Entebbe where they held discussions about the national carrier and it’s future.
“I met Mr Girma Wake the former CEO of Ethiopian Airlines alongside Mr Robert Kateera at State House today. We discussed matters regarding air transport among other issues” Museveni posted on his X page.
Girma’s appointment as the interim CEO, comes at a time when the national carrier is in a crisis and under investigation by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and Police Criminal Investigations Directorate over alleged abuse of office, embezzlement of funds and false accounting against officials of Uganda Airlines.
Since mid-last year, the National Airline has been in the spotlight over a number of issues including several corruption allegations, lack of spare parts, flight disruptions and un notified flight cancellations among other woes.
According to reports presented to parliament, the airline recorded a net loss of about UGX 324.9 billion in the 2022/ 2023 financial year, in 2023/2024, losses fell but remained substantial at about UGX 237.8 billion.
Girma’s appointment comes barely a day after the Board of Directors of Uganda Airlines had advertised the position, which now requires candidates to be over 60 years old, seeking to recruit a visionary and results-oriented CEO to provide strategic leadership and oversee the airline’s sustainable growth and performance.
Girma’s brief history
Girma Wake previously served as CEO of Ethiopian Airlines from 2004 to 2011 and later chaired the board of Rwanda’s national carrier, RwandAir, from 2012 to 2017.
He returned to Ethiopian Airlines Group in 2018 as a board member and was appointed chairman in 2022.
In June 2023, he was replaced as chairman by Yilma Merdassa, the head of the Ethiopian Air Force.
Girma joined Ethiopian Airlines in 1965 after graduating, at a time when the carrier was largely managed by American personnel from Trans World Airlines (TWA). He rose through the ranks to become one of the first Ethiopians to hold senior executive positions at the airline.
He served at Ethiopian Airlines for nearly three decades before resigning in 1993 following leadership disagreements with the newly installed Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government.
In November 2003, Girma—then head of cargo operations at Gulf Air—was invited by then Ethiopian Airlines chairman and foreign affairs minister Seyoum Mesfin to return as CEO. Although initially reluctant, he accepted the position in February 2004.
At the time, Ethiopian Airlines operated 12 aircraft and carried about 1.2 million passengers annually. Under Girma’s leadership, the airline implemented its Vision 2010 strategy, launched in 2005. Despite early skepticism, the plan delivered rapid growth, with the airline expanding at an average annual rate of 25 percent between 2005 and 2010.
By the end of the period, passenger numbers had nearly tripled to 3.2 million, the fleet had grown to 37 aircraft, and Ethiopian Airlines had one of the youngest fleets globally. The airline also joined the Star Alliance in 2011.
During his tenure, Ethiopian Airlines created about 1,500 jobs and significantly increased employee incomes. The carrier also expanded across Africa through strategic partnerships, including a 45 percent stake in West Africa’s ASKY Airlines.
After stepping down as CEO in 2011, Girma was succeeded by Tewolde Gebremariam. He later served as chairman of United Insurance Company before taking up leadership roles at RwandAir and returning to Ethiopian Airlines Group in 2018.
Uganda Airlines Tenure
According to sources in the Airline, Girma Wake will serve as interim executive and consultant while also participating in the search for a substantive chief executive.
At the beginning of it’s revival, Zambian Cornwell Muleya was appointed the pioneer CEO of the revived Uganda Airlines, serving from October 2019 until his suspension in 2021 and eventual termination in February 2022 following allegations of mismanagement and corruption.
Muleya led the initial setup phase before being replaced by Jennifer Bamuturaki.
