The Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) has moved to block an alleged US$14 million (about Shs52 billion) government payment linked to Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID) chairman Odrek Rwabwogo. The move has intensified a growing dispute over PACEID’s legal status, access to public funds and accountability.
Kasambya County MP David Kabanda, who also serves as Executive Secretary to PLU chairman Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, said PLU wants the Ministry of Finance and other government agencies to suspend dealings with PACEID until its legal foundation, financing, staffing and accountability are clarified. Kabanda’s position follows Gen. Kainerugaba’s recent declaration that PACEID is an illegal entity.
The US$14 million claim has become the centre of the dispute. Kabanda alleges that the Ministry of Finance was preparing to pay Rwabwogo over the alleged supply of helicopters and spare parts to South Sudan during the country’s civil war, through Thomas Farm Limited. He questioned why Uganda should settle the claim if the alleged supplies were made to the South Sudanese government.
PLU has linked the claim to outstanding payments arising from Uganda’s supply of maize and sorghum to South Sudan. In 2018, Parliament recommended payment of about US$41 million in arrears to 10 Ugandan companies that had supplied grain worth about US$56 million between 2008 and 2010. PLU claims Thomas Farm Limited was not among the original beneficiaries but later claimed to have supplied helicopters and spare parts.
The allegations, however, have not been independently established. The specific US$14 million claim, the alleged helicopter-supply agreement and the legal basis for Uganda to make the payment require documentary verification. Kabanda has also raised allegations concerning Rwabwogo’s business interests and land in Kiruhura, while reports have emerged over the reported detention of PACEID secretariat head Matthew Bagonza.
Rwabwogo has rejected the accusations and defended PACEID’s mandate. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, he said the committee was commissioned on March 16, 2022, to open export markets for Ugandan products before being placed under the Office of the President on May 25 of the same year. He said President Museveni, who created the initiative, had told him no order had been issued to terminate its operations.
Rwabwogo said PACEID has focused on improving food safety and export compliance, reducing transport and infrastructure barriers and helping exporters access affordable financing. He said the committee had surpassed its initial US$6 billion export target and was now entering a second phase focused on aggregation, cooling and drying centres across 18 zones. The dispute now leaves key questions over the alleged US$14 million payment and PACEID’s institutional framework awaiting clear documentary answers.
