British High Commissioner to Uganda : Diplomatic Tensions Rise Over Fabricated Meeting Claims by Minister Evelyn Anite

A recent diplomatic dispute has emerged, bringing attention to Uganda’s Minister of State for Investment, Evelyn Anite, and her alleged misrepresentation of a meeting with the British High Commissioner to Uganda, H.E. Kate Airey OBE. According to a diplomatic note dated July 31, addressed to Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the British High Commission expressed concerns over Minister Anite’s claims about a meeting related to the Kampala Industrial and Business Park (KIBP) infrastructure development project at Namanve. The note clarified that no such meeting took place.

This note, seen by various media outlets, explicitly refuted Minister Anite’s assertions that she had met with the British High Commissioner and officials from the UK Export Finance (UKEF) to discuss the Namanve project. The British High Commission further stated that they had received inquiries from the press regarding the purported meeting, reiterating that it had not occurred. The High Commission requested a face-to-face meeting with Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Gen Jeje Odongo, to address the matter.

This diplomatic friction is a significant setback for Minister Anite, who has been embroiled in an ongoing dispute with the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and its Director General, Robert Mukiza, over financial and management issues concerning the KIBP project. The conflict centers around honorarium payments totaling Shs 545 million, which Minister Anite demanded be refunded during a June 11 meeting with UIA officials. She claimed that the British High Commissioner and UKEF officials had pressured her to demand the refund.

However, in a July 23 response, UIA Director General Mukiza accused Minister Anite of fabricating the story about the meeting. He asserted that her claims regarding UKEF’s involvement and the demand for a refund were false and misleading. Mukiza emphasized that the issues concerning the Namanve project had been resolved under the guidance of President Museveni and did not involve any pressure from UKEF.

In his letter, Mukiza directly challenged Minister Anite’s integrity, accusing her of manipulating facts to provoke public outrage against the UIA for her own motives. He pointed out that Minister Anite often claimed she would resign if proven dishonest, suggesting that she should now follow through on that promise.

The dispute between Minister Anite and the UIA has dragged on for months, beginning with her ultimatum that certain UIA staff refund the Shs 545 million paid as honorarium. This amount was part of the €219,482,727.15 (approximately Shs 871 billion) secured from UKEF on December 4, 2019, for the KIBP infrastructure development project. Minister Anite had interpreted the honorarium as corrupt and demanded its return within 24 hours of June 12. However, UIA officials, including Deputy Director General Kyalimpa, who has since resigned, argued that the payments were legal and approved by the board.

The UIA’s stance is that the honorarium was legally authorized by the board of directors and outlined in their human resource manual. Following the termination of the project’s owner’s engineer (OE) on August 29, 2022, additional responsibilities were given to the Project Management Team (PMT) and some UIA staff to fill the supervisory gap in the Namanve infrastructure development project.

President Museveni convened a meeting at State House to discuss the matter, indicating that a final decision would be made after consulting independent technical experts from the Ministry of Finance. Despite this, Minister Anite continued to assert on social media that she was under pressure from UKEF to ensure the honorarium was refunded.

In a related development, Mukiza’s letter also accused Minister Anite of cyberbullying Sheikh Mohammed Juma Al Maktoum, a member of the Dubai ruling family. The Sheikh’s group has agreements with the Ugandan government to construct the Uganda oil refinery and invest in Ugandan Air Cargo, among other projects. Mukiza alleged that Minister Anite made defamatory remarks about the Sheikh, calling him a “fake prince” and falsely claiming that his government was investigating him.

Mukiza urged Minister Anite to apologize to the Sheikh and his family, emphasizing the importance of integrity in leadership. He criticized her for allegedly fabricating and falsifying information to achieve personal objectives, describing her actions as scandalous, fraudulent, and potentially criminal. Mukiza concluded by reminding Minister Anite of her previous statements about resigning if found dishonest and urged her to take responsibility for her actions.