KAMPALA — Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has demanded answers from the Bank of Uganda (BoU) over Shs140.487 billion that has remained unrecovered for nine years under a transaction involving Haba Group of Companies.
The committee raised concern that the money, which has been outstanding since 2017, has not been recovered despite repeated engagements between the central bank, the Ministry of Finance and external lawyers.
BoU Governor Michael Atingi-Ego and the bank’s Head of Legal, Dorothy Ochola, appeared before COSASE on Monday to respond to queries arising from the Auditor General’s report for the 2024/2025 financial year.
According to BoU, the Shs140.487 billion arose from letters of comfort issued to Haba Group to obtain financing from commercial banks.
However, the bank told the committee that the transaction was undertaken on instructions from the Ministry of Finance, which had sought the guarantee on behalf of the Government.
COSASE Chairperson Muwada Nkunyingi questioned why BoU had not taken stronger steps to recover the money, noting that the debt had remained outstanding since 2017.
“You cannot say that your response was late after nine years to the Minister of Finance and you don’t know what happened,” Nkunyingi said.
He also questioned why BoU had not directly engaged Haba Group in recent years and demanded details of the company’s directors and shareholders.
Ochola told the committee that she did not know the current directors of Haba Group but said available records indicated that members of the Basajjabalaba family were involved in the company.
She said she had only recently taken over the legal portfolio at BoU, having joined the bank in December 2025.
Ochola said BoU had been working with external lawyers, Max Advocates, while also engaging the Ministry of Finance to resolve the matter.
She, however, acknowledged that BoU had not directly engaged Haba Group in the recent past.
The committee further heard that Haba Group did not provide security for the transaction.
This prompted Nkunyingi to question how BoU could allow such a large exposure to remain unresolved without establishing the company’s current status and ownership.
The committee also challenged BoU’s reliance on the Ministry of Finance, arguing that the central bank, as a corporate body, had powers to pursue recovery.
Ochola maintained that the Government was involved because the financing had been undertaken on its instructions.
She also clarified that while Haba Group was involved in the transaction, the money in question was advanced to the Government, a position that prompted further questioning from the committee.
COSASE subsequently directed BoU to return with detailed information on the transaction, including the earlier reports, recovery efforts, court proceedings, the status of Haba Group and the identities of its directors and shareholders.
The committee also summoned businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba and other shareholders linked to Haba Group to appear before it and respond to questions surrounding the transaction.
Nkunyingi said the committee would not allow the matter to continue dragging on without clear answers.
The committee is expected to resume scrutiny of the matter after BoU returns with the requested documentation.
