The May 2026 audit report authored by Auditor General Edward Akol has revealed widespread financial irregularities at the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), implicating its top leadership in what investigators describe as systematic abuse of office, policy violations, and unauthorized personal enrichment.
The findings, triggered by a March 19, 2026 directive from the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST), ordered a forensic investigation into alleged financial mismanagement and abuse of public funds within the regulator.
At the center of the report is the IRA Chief Executive Officer, Kaddunabbi, who the Auditor General says either authorized or directly benefited from payments that contravened the Employment Act, internal IRA financial policies, and explicit instructions from the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
UGX 181 Million in Questioned Payments
The forensic audit established a total financial loss and irregular payout of UGX 181,447,000 linked to three main categories of payments.
Irregular Leave Allowances – UGX 36.83 Million
The report found that Kaddunabbi received leave allowances without evidence of actual leave taken. These included UGX 12.5 million for the 2019/20 financial year and UGX 24.33 million for 2021/22, both of which lacked supporting documentation or leave records.
Untaken Leave Compensation – UGX 87.17 Million
On November 14, 2023, IRA processed UGX 87.17 million as compensation for 44 days of alleged untaken leave from a previous contract cycle. However, auditors rejected this payment, stating that contract renewals do not automatically trigger such payouts unless there is proof of formally requested and denied leave.
Double-Dipped Travel Per Diems – UGX 57.43 Million
A major portion of the questioned expenditure relates to Kaddunabbi’s role as a non-executive director at the Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re). While Africa Re fully funded his international board trips—including business-class flights and accommodation—the IRA’s internal guidelines only allowed him to receive 30% of standard per diem allowances.
Despite this, the audit found that he received UGX 89.97 million in full per diems across multiple fully sponsored trips, resulting in significant overpayments.
The report highlights several disputed trips:
- Abuja, Nigeria (December 2024): Paid UGX 16.20M vs allowable UGX 4.86M
- Cairo, Egypt (October 2024): Paid UGX 18.90M vs allowable UGX 5.67M
- Johannesburg, South Africa (May 2025): Paid UGX 13.50M vs allowable UGX 4.05M
- Abuja, Nigeria (December 2025): Paid UGX 19.92M vs allowable UGX 5.97M
- Kigali, Rwanda (June 2025): Paid UGX 13.50M vs allowable UGX 4.05M
The Cairo trip also raised additional red flags, with immigration records reportedly conflicting with boarding pass data submitted by Kaddunabbi, according to the report.
Salary Increments Defying Ministerial Directive
The audit further reveals that following Kaddunabbi’s contract renewal on June 1, 2021, the Minister of Finance capped his monthly salary at UGX 46.34 million. A subsequent request to increase his pay to UGX 55 million was explicitly rejected, with instructions that any adjustments must follow inflation benchmarks and receive formal Board approval.
However, investigators found that his salary was gradually increased year after year without documented ministerial authorization, a move the Auditor General says directly violated financial control procedures and ministerial directives.
The report notes that Board-level budget approvals were improperly used to justify the increases, even though such approvals cannot override statutory salary-setting procedures.
Overstaffing and Payroll Inflation
Beyond executive payments, the audit uncovered irregular recruitment practices that significantly inflated payroll costs.
In December 2022, IRA advertised 32 positions and received more than 12,000 applications. However, final hiring exceeded the approved structure. Although only 14 vacancies were budgeted across six departments, 24 employees were ultimately recruited.
This resulted in 10 unbudgeted staff being added to the payroll, creating an estimated cost variance of UGX 647.5 million over 13 months. The IRA Board Chairperson placed the longer-term financial impact at UGX 654.75 million.
Notably, auditors reported that departmental heads denied requesting any additional staff, raising further questions about centralized decision-making and oversight.
Governance Breakdown at the Top
The Auditor General concludes that the findings point to a serious collapse in internal corporate governance at IRA. The report highlights a fundamental conflict of interest, noting that Kaddunabbi acted both as an approving accounting officer and as a direct beneficiary of several of the payments under investigation.
This dual role, the report states, undermined internal controls and enabled repeated breaches of financial accountability systems.
The file has now been forwarded for further administrative and legal action, with mounting pressure on the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the IRA Board to initiate recovery of funds, enforce disciplinary measures, and overhaul internal audit and governance structures to prevent future abuses.
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