The Uganda Airlines board members have asked Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authority and State Enterprises (COSASE) to exclude the media from their proceedings.
MPs on COSASE are investigating the airlines for corruption and financial loss costing the government billions of shillings.
In a letter dated August 22, 2022, the Board Chairperson of the Uganda National Airlines Company Limited – UNACL, Priscilla Mirembe Serukka, states that removing media coverage will protect the Company from bad press that may affect negatively in the future.
She further explains that due to the sensitivity of the aviation industry, some discussions, could kill trust in the national airline hence threaten its future viability.
“Pursuant to this, I request that all further meetings of the Airline with your esteemed Committee should be held without the Press to limit damage to the entire airline,” reads Mirembe’s letter.
Mirembe further requested the Committee to reschedule the meeting with them to a later date because the Board will be conducting an ‘Ordinary Board Meeting’ on Thursday, August 25, 2022, to ‘consider matters of the company that have time frames and cannot be postponed.’
Meanwhile, Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authority and State Enterprises – COSASE has summoned the Uganda Airlines boss Jennifer Bamuturaki to appear on Wednesday or get an arrest warrant.
The committee chairperson Joel Ssenyonyi,(Nakawa West MP), was compelled to issue the summon after Bamuturaki failed to appear for a grilling session on Tuesday morning citing overriding priorities.
Bamuturaki and other top officials from the Ministry were expected to interface with the committee to answer the emerging queries.
However, other officials who appeared instead explained to Cosase MPs that his bosses were engaged with pre-planned activities at the national carrier that clashed with the meeting.
Michael Kaliisa, the Uganda Airlines Quality Assurance Manager, explained that the coincidence meeting could not allow all top officials to be in attendance.
Therefore, Ssenyonyi ordered that Bamuturaki has directed her to mandatorily appear before the Committee at 10:00 am on Wednesday or risk an arrest warrant to be forcefully produced by the Police.