The Kampala Anti-Corruption Court has charged and remanded 15 Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) officials over multiple counts of corruption and causing financial loss of UGX 9.3 billion in a Gorilla permit scam.
Prosecution told court that the accused between July 2020 and September 2023 allegedly manipulated UWA’s online Go Chimp reservation system to issue thousands of invalid permits.
They include the director of tourism and business development Stephen Sanya Masaba, the director of finance and administration Jimmy Mugisa, senior warden accounts Robert Maani and former head of reservations Leslie Muhindo.
Others include Alfred Emmanuel Ndikusooka the ICT Manager, Gilbert Mwesigwa the Warden Software Developer, and several sales executives.
Prosecution alleges that the suspects either neglected their duties or actively used their access credentials to insert, confirm, and print invalid gorilla and chimpanzee tracking permits.
This action is said to have allowed unauthorized access to protected areas including Buhoma, Nkuringo, Ruhija, Rushaga, Nyakagezi, Kanyanchu, and Kyambura, resulting in losses of more than USD 2.5 million.
The group has further been charged with conspiracy to defraud after they allegedly colluded with others still at large to issue over 8,400 fake permits, undermining a key source of Uganda’s conservation revenue.
The group was arrested and arraigned before the court after a forensic audit conducted by the Auditor General, which revealed systemic fraud within UWA’s permit issuance system.
