President Yoweri Museveni has proposed Edward Sengonzi Damulira as the new Clerk to Parliament, ending Adolf Mwesige Kasaija’s five-year tenure in a leadership change that comes amid lingering questions over the implementation of a court directive holding the outgoing parliamentary administrator accountable for his role in the controversial Shs1.7 billion service awards to four parliamentary commissioners.
Damulira, currently an Under Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, is among 13 senior public servants proposed by Museveni for appointment to key government positions, including 12 Permanent Secretary positions across ministries and government institutions.
The proposed appointment, contained in a communication dated November 5 and made public on Sunday, November 8, is subject to assessment by the Public Service Commission before the President makes the final appointments.
Mwesige’s proposed departure comes more than two years after the High Court directed Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi to institute disciplinary proceedings against him over his handling of the service awards, which attracted public scrutiny and triggered legal and administrative questions about accountability in the management of parliamentary funds.
In a judgment delivered on August 12, 2024, Justice Douglas Singiza found that although the Parliamentary Commission had approved the awards and the expenditure had been incorporated into the national budget, Mwesige had failed to provide the necessary financial and administrative guidance to the Commission.
The awards, approved in May 2022, involved Shs500 million for former Leader of Opposition Mathias Mpuuga and Shs400 million each for three parliamentary commissioners: Prossy Akampurira Mbabazi, Solomon Silwany and Esther Afoyochan.
The payments, collectively amounting to Shs1.7 billion, were described as service awards, but their approval and implementation sparked controversy, particularly over the legal and administrative procedures followed in authorising the expenditure.
The case was filed by concerned citizen Daniel Bwette against the Parliamentary Commission, challenging the legality of the payments and the circumstances under which they were approved.
While Justice Singiza did not invalidate the awards or direct the beneficiaries to refund the money, he faulted Mwesige for failing to exercise his responsibilities as Clerk to Parliament and accounting officer when the Commission considered and approved the payments.
The judge observed that Mwesige had attended the meeting at which the awards were approved but failed to provide the necessary guidance on the financial and administrative implications of the decision.
Justice Singiza held that the Clerk had an independent responsibility to ensure compliance with public finance management requirements and could not escape accountability merely because the decision to make the payments originated from the Parliamentary Commission.
The court consequently directed Ggoobi to institute disciplinary proceedings against Mwesige within 12 months, finding that his failure to exercise the required oversight amounted to dereliction of duty under the Public Finance Management Act.
However, the implementation of the directive subsequently became uncertain after Mwesige challenged the judgment, arguing that he had not been a party to the original proceedings and had been condemned without being given an opportunity to defend himself.
On September 5, 2024, Mwesige and the Parliamentary Commission consented to the withdrawal of his application seeking a review of the judgment and a stay of its implementation.
The withdrawal brought the application to an end without a substantive hearing. It did not, however, reverse Justice Singiza’s findings or formally set aside the directive requiring the Secretary to the Treasury to initiate disciplinary proceedings.
The 12-month period granted to Ggoobi expired in August 2025, but there has been no publicly established confirmation that the disciplinary proceedings were instituted or concluded.
Museveni’s decision to nominate a successor to Mwesige therefore comes against the background of unanswered questions about whether the Treasury implemented the court directive and whether any administrative action was taken against the outgoing Clerk before his proposed departure.
The court’s findings were particularly significant because they placed responsibility on the Clerk as the accounting officer, despite the fact that the Parliamentary Commission had approved the payments and the expenditure had been incorporated into the national budget.
A change at Parliament
Mwesige was appointed Clerk to Parliament in July 2021, replacing Jane Kibirige, who had served in the position since February 2012 before being retired by Museveni in the public interest.
Kibirige made history as the first woman to serve as Clerk to Parliament. Following her departure, Mwesige, a lawyer and former Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, was appointed to head the Parliamentary Service.
He formally assumed office on August 18, 2021, after Deputy Speaker Anita Among appointed Deputy Clerk Henry Waiswa to temporarily perform the functions of the Clerk as Mwesige completed the formalities required to take over.
Before joining Parliament, Mwesige had served in Cabinet for several years, including as Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs.
The Clerk to Parliament is the administrative head of the Parliamentary Service and secretary to the Parliamentary Commission, the institution responsible for overseeing Parliament’s operations.
The office carries significant financial and administrative responsibilities, including supervising human resource management, coordinating parliamentary administration and ensuring accountability in the use of public resources.
As accounting officer, the Clerk also provides financial and administrative guidance to the Parliamentary Commission, a responsibility that formed the basis of Justice Singiza’s findings in the service awards dispute.
Damulira’s proposed appointment will therefore place him at the head of an institution that has faced scrutiny over financial accountability, internal administration and the management of public resources.
Wider changes in government
Beyond Parliament, Museveni has proposed 12 appointments to Permanent Secretary positions, affecting several strategic government ministries and institutions.
The changes include the Office of the Prime Minister, the Inspectorate of Government, the Office of the President, and ministries responsible for finance-related administration, agriculture, infrastructure, defence, foreign affairs, ICT and regional integration.
At the Office of the Prime Minister, Emmanuel Freddie Mugunga has been nominated to replace Alex Kakooza, while Maureen Kasande has been proposed to replace Rose N. Kafeero at the Inspectorate of Government.
Sheeba Kyobutungi Rujoki has been nominated to oversee Science, Technology and Innovation in the Office of the President.
At the Ministry of Water and Environment, Kenneth Akiri has been proposed to replace Alfred Okot Okidi, while Barbara Namugambe is lined up to take over from Pius Wakabi at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
Namugambe previously served as Under Secretary for Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Charles Ssentongo has been nominated to replace Ambassador Patrick Mugoya as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ssentongo is a career diplomat who joined the ministry in 1990 and has served in Uganda’s diplomatic missions in London, Dar es Salaam and Washington.
At the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Prof. Stephen Akandwanaho has been proposed to replace the outgoing Permanent Secretary. Akandwanaho is a computer scientist and academic with expertise in information technology and artificial intelligence.
Mark Sseremba has been nominated to replace Catherine Bitarakwate Musingwiire at the Ministry of Public Service.
Sseremba previously served as Director of Human Resources at the National Agricultural Research Organisation and Commissioner of Human Resources at the Ministry of Agriculture.
At the Ministry of Works and Transport, Museveni has proposed National Building Review Board Executive Secretary Eng. Flavia Guto Bwire to replace Waiswa Bageya.
Edith Butuuro has been nominated to replace Rosette Byengoma at the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs. Butuuro has been serving as the ministry’s Under Secretary in charge of Finance and Administration, making the proposed appointment an internal elevation.
At the Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Aggrey Wunyi has been proposed to replace Edith N. Mwanje, while Betty Mutesa Cwinya-ai has been nominated to replace Dr John Geoffrey Mbabazi at the Public Service Commission.
The proposed changes bring together a mix of career public servants, administrators, technocrats and diplomats, with several nominees being elevated from senior positions within government.
In his communication, Museveni said he had directed the Public Service Commission to assess the suitability of the proposed appointees and advise him accordingly before the appointments are finalised.
The President invoked Article 174(2) of the 1995 Constitution in making the announcement.
The proposed appointments are expected to affect the leadership of institutions responsible for public administration, infrastructure development, agriculture, environmental management, national security, foreign relations, regional integration and technological development.
Permanent Secretaries serve as accounting officers and chief administrative heads of government ministries, responsible for managing public resources, supervising administrative operations and ensuring the implementation of government policies and programmes.
The proposed appointments, including that of Damulira as Clerk to Parliament, will therefore only take effect after the required assessment and subsequent presidential action.
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