KAMPALA, Uganda — The trial of fifteen Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) staff accused of causing a Shs9.3 billion loss in gorilla and chimpanzee tracking revenue has begun at the Anti-Corruption Court, with key uncontested documents admitted into evidence.
Justice Michael Elubu, who is presiding over the case, admitted seven documents that were not disputed by the defence, allowing the prosecution to proceed with its evidence.
The documents include UWA employment contracts, the authority’s human resource manual dated July 1, 2023, a certified copy of its 2016 revised financial procedures manual, and a reservations and booking system user manual dated July 31, 2020.
The court also admitted orders authorising the extraction of mobile money statements, subscriber details, call data records, and customer verification information linked to three telephone numbers, issued in September 2025.
“These uncontested documents are hereby admitted on record as evidence and marked as prosecution exhibits,” Justice Elubu ruled.
Gorilla tourism revenue at the centre of case
Gorilla tourism is Uganda’s most valuable wildlife product, accounting for about 70 percent of total tourism earnings. Permit sales for gorilla tracking generate an estimated $35 million (about Shs130 billion) annually, underscoring the scale of the alleged losses between July 2020 and September 2023.
The prosecution is led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Barbra Kawuma, assisted by Chief State Attorney Edward Muhumuza and Senior State Attorney Innocent Aleto.
Allegations of system failures and fraud
Prosecutors allege that former UWA director of tourism and business development, Stephen Sanyi Masaba, failed to establish effective systems for revenue collection, allowing invalid permits to be used across national parks, resulting in financial losses.
They further accuse former finance and administration director Jimmy Mugisa of failing to maintain proper financial management systems, which allegedly compromised accurate record-keeping.
Robert Maani, a senior warden in charge of accounts, is accused of failing to reconcile tracking revenue with daily visitor records, enabling irregularities in permit validation.
Detailed charges against staff
Leslie Muhindo, former head of reservations, faces two counts, including allegedly failing to reconcile bookings and using the GoChimp system to manipulate 38 invalid permits covering 87 visitors across multiple tracking sites, resulting in an alleged loss of Shs224.1 million.
ICT manager Alfred Emmanuel Ndikusooka is accused of failing to ensure the integrity of the GoChimp system.
Warden Gilbert Mwesigwa faces multiple counts, including allegedly issuing invalid permits, rescheduling bookings, and assigning shared system access to interns. Prosecutors say these actions contributed to losses exceeding Shs3 billion.
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Sales executive Gad Ekochu is accused of processing hundreds of invalid permits for over 3,000 visitors across several national parks, allegedly contributing to losses exceeding Shs4.8 billion.
Other accused staff, including Shafik Twebaze, Rose Namutebi and Grace Mubeezi, face similar charges involving insertion, cancellation and rescheduling of invalid permits across Uganda’s major gorilla tracking destinations, including Rushaga, Ruhija, Buhoma, Nkuringo and Kanyanchu.
Scale of alleged losses
In total, prosecutors allege that UWA staff issued 1,401 invalid gorilla and chimpanzee tracking permits, resulting in losses estimated at Shs9.3 billion.
The case continues before the Anti-Corruption Court.
