A cross section of UWA staff having their day in court
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has temporarily suspended the Go Chimp system and instituted new audit controls to prevent exploitation of its reservation platform.
Before it was suspended, the UWA Go Chimp system worked through a manual and semi-automated process that was vulnerable to fraud. Customers paid for permits at the bank and presented a physical payslip to UWA, who would then issue a receipt and a permit.
The fraud, involving 15 senior and senior officials who pocketed up to Shs 9.3 billion, occurred because there was insufficient oversight and cross-checking, allowing some staff to manually override the system, reuse authentic receipts, or take payments while bypassing the official financial records.
Uganda’s gorilla and chimpanzee tracking activities attract thousands of visitors annually and are a vital source of tourism revenue. The alleged fraud has therefore sparked concerns about accountability and transparency in the management of wildlife resources.
Fifteen staff members of the UWA recently appeared before the Anti-Corruption Court in Kampala over an alleged Shs 9.3 billion fraud linked to the sale of fake gorilla and chimpanzee tracking permits.
They are facing criminal charges under the Anti-Corruption Act, Cap 116, including causing financial loss, abuse of office, neglect of duty, and conspiracy to defraud.
According to the charge sheet, the group conspired with individuals still at large to process over 8,400 fake permits, diverting huge sums from one of Uganda’s most lucrative conservation activities.
The prosecution alleges that between July 2020 and September 2023, the accused officers exploited weaknesses in UWA’s digital Go Chimp reservation platform to generate and approve thousands of forged tracking permits. The scam reportedly cost the Authority and government over $2.5 million (Shs 9.3 billion) in lost tourism revenue.
Investigators from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Inspectorate of Government (IG) say the suspects either failed to perform their duties or deliberately used their system credentials to validate fake permits that granted unauthorized access to several protected areas.
The parks affected include Buhoma, Nkuringo, Ruhija, Rushaga, Nyakagezi, Kanyanchu, and Kyambura, all prime destinations for Uganda’s gorilla and chimpanzee tourism.
Those charged include some of UWA’s top managers and technical staff and have been listed as: Stephen Sanya Masaba – Director of Tourism and Business Development, Jimmy Mugisa – Director of Finance and Administration, Robert Maani – Senior Warden, Accounts and Leslie Muhindo, the former Head of Reservations.
Others include Alfred Emmanuel Ndikusooka – the ICT Manager and Gilbert Mwesigwa, the Warden and Software Developer. Several other reservation and sales officers are also implicated.
The internal audit that first unearthed the irregularities prompted a wider investigation, exposing a sophisticated digital manipulation scheme within UWA’s online booking system.
The prosecution has requested additional time to track down more suspects believed to be part of the network behind the fraudulent permit issuance.
If proven guilty, the accused face hefty prison sentences, restitution orders, and permanent disqualification from holding public office.
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