Of Mutebile’s 9 lives at BoU― Has Atingi-Ego, learnt nothing from Kasekende’s past futile fights with the Governor? President Museveni’s reappointment of Prof Emmanuel Mutebile as Bank of Uganda Governor, for the 5th term seem to have thrown his adversaries at the Central Bank into disarray. But will they give up?

Report of the Presidential Tripartite Committee

What would you do in your first 48 hours as an Ag. Bank of Uganda Governor?

Well, for Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego, who assumed office, only 5 months ago as Deputy Governor, his very first move within 48 hours was to shuffle 18 Deputy Directors and Assistant Directors.

Just hours after Prof. Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile’s contract ended as Governor, Atingi-Ego, on January 13th, 2021 in a memo to all staff, transfer 14 Deputy Directors and 4 Assistant Director in various departments, a move he said, would increase “increase operational efficiency.”

“I have agreed with the Governor on the following staff transfers and appointments to enhance operational efficiency in the bank. The changes take immediate effect, except for those who will be replacing retiring staff on the due dates,” wrote Atingi-Ego, in a memo seen by CEO East Africa Magazine.  

While staff rotation at Bank of Uganda is normal business, insider sources say this particular one, its timing and mode of execution was quite curious.

First of all, although announced on 13^th January 2021- the memo itself was back-dated to 11^th January 2021 while Mutebile was still in office. Why the Deputy Governor chose to effect the changes immediately Mutebile was legally out of office is as peculiar as it is suspicious.  

A source at the Central Bank who spoke to the CEO East Africa Magazine intimated that the changes at the central bank and the timing are a miniature version of a much bigger problem- an emerging rift between Mutebile and his deputy.

“The particular staff changes have been received as Atingi-Ego’s move to ‘make his presence felt at the bank.’ The move has also been interpreted as an attempt to purge most of known and perceived Mutebile allies, while rewarding the pro-Kasekende-Atingi-Ego bloc,” one of the affected officers told CEO East Africa Magazine in an exclusive interview. 

For example, one of the affected officers is Dr. Natamba Bazinzi, who was moved from the more influential Currency Department where he was the Assistant Director, Currency Administration to now become the Assistant Director, in the Communications Department. It shall be remembered that Dr. Natamba was one of the 5 persons externally recruited by Mutebile, on 7th February 2018- a move that caused furore at BoU especially at the board level.

The board accused Mutebile of breaching the central bank’s human resources policies. An unrepentant and unapologetic Mutebile stuck to his guns insisting that the recruitment was “consistent with the head-hunting policy of the bank.”

Not even the recommendations of the Presidential Tripartite Committee formed to among others investigate this recruitment could make him change his mind or rescind the appointments.  

Atingi-Ego has learnt nor forgotten nothing

You are probably surprised why, Atingi-Ego who only joined BoU in August 2020 and before that, had served under Mutebile in various senior roles in the early 2000s is already developing rifts with the Governor. You could also be equally confused on why there is still an alleged Kasekende-Atingi-Ego axis yet, Dr. Louis Kasekende left the bank in January 2020.

Yes, Dr. Kasekende, the former Deputy Bank Governor could have left the bank in January 2020, after the President declined to renew his contract, but he still has loyal protégés within the board and senior management of the bank. But again, Kasekende is just one cog in a larger anti-Mutebile wheel within the rank and file of the Central Bank, that goes all the way to the board, which Mutebile doubles as its Chairperson.

On assuming office in August 2020, Atingi-Ego, also a former colleague and confidante of  Kasekende when he first became Deputy Governor, “had to choose sides between an ageing, ailing and soon to retire Mutebile or an equally powerful and still-around anti-Mutebile axis that was well entrenched at the senior levels and within the board.”

“Atingi-Ego chose the latter, thus reincarnating the old love-hate relationship between the Governor and the Deputy Governor that at some point threatened to paralyse work at the bank in 2018/19,” another source at the bank told CEO East Africa Magazine.

The February 2019 Report of the Presidential Tripartite Committee to President Museveni clearly documented this deep-seated split.  

“There is a risk of divisions according to religion in that Bank. Catholics and Anglicans have their own groups. They have meetings and each has its own power,” noted the Hon. Abdu Katuntu (MP) who chaired the committee. The same was confirmed by Ms. Josephine Okwi Ossiya, one of BoU’s board members who told the committee that: “there seems to be camps where a group allies with the Deputy Governor and the other with the Governor.”

In the report, most board directors, took turns to bash Mutebile, while being soft on Kasekende.

The report also detailed internal staff dissatisfaction at the bank over work-related discrimination and tribal/regional discrimination at the time. 

“The intrigue and anti-Mutebile fight at the Central Bank is real and it is unfortunate that Atingi-Ego who should have probably taken a neutral position and possibly a peacemaker, has also chosen to join the anti-Mutebile crew. It is for this reason that many of the staff at the bank who were affected by the movements, think the staff changes were a move to punish pro-Mutebile people,” continued the source, that is remarkably familiar with the fights at BoU.   

Report of the Presidential Tripartite Committee

A former Bank of Uganda Board Member, who spoke to CEO East Africa Magazine, on condition of anonymity, said that issues at the central bank needed the direct intervention of the President, who is the appointing authority for the Governor, Deputy Governor, as well as the board.

“The current Deputy Governor is a technical person grounded in economics and not management, so he may not be able to deal with issues and intrigue in the already polarized institution,” said the former board member.

“The Governor is ailing and no longer assertive as he was once. His health hasn’t allowed him to take charge. He had trusted his former deputy, but they got issues. The former deputy was good both administratively and technically, but he allowed tribal politics to consume the bank otherwise they had the two of them done very well earlier. There is still time for His Excellency to rescind his decision to appoint a new Governor who will be assertive enough to resolve the administrative hiccups,” he concluded.

Underestimate Mutebile at your own risk

Probably unknown to Mutebile’s cynics and detractors on the same day that Atingi-Ego announced the staff changes, President Yoweri made a decision to reappoint Mutebile, giving him another 5 years in office, effectively making him the longest serving bank Governor. However, because of the internet shut-down, and the ongoing two public holidays due to national elections, the decision reappoint Mutebile would officially be communicated on Monday 18^th 2020.

“At the bank, there is a group that is obviously happy with Mutebile’s reappointment and another that is not,” intimated another source at the bank, adding that actually, there is a possibility that some people in the board, knew about the plan to reappoint Mutebile, which is why the staff changes were done in haste, while Atingi-Ego was still in charge. 

This particular theory too carries some weight because, although the president has made known to the Speaker of Parliament, his intentions to renew Mutebile’s contract, it will be some weeks before Mutebile effectively and legally assumes office. According to the procedure of hiring the Governor, after the Parliamentary Appointments Committee, which is chaired by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Kadaga has sat, to consider Mutebile’s re-appointment- and they are highly likely to since 15 of the 20-member committee is from the ruling NRM party, they will have to make a formal report to the President, through the Minister of Finance. If satisfied with the Parliament’s report, the President will then make the appointing instrument in writing to the Minister of Finance, who will then write to Mutebile, officially appointing him as the Governor.

All this is likely to take some weeks, thus making Atingi-Ego the defacto Ag. Governor and Deputy Governor at the same time in the meantime.   

But one thing is clear, when Mutebile returns to office formally and legally, there will be no love lost between him and his adversaries and you can trust Mutebile to fight back. Those who know Mutebile, will tell you to cross his path and or underestimate him at your own risk.

What he has lost through being slowed down by ailing health, he compensates with blunt stubbornness that is precipitated by his closeness to President Museveni. And he always has potential to surprise his enemies at every opportunity- usually laughing last.

For example, in 2012 amidst calls by MPs to have him fired over an alleged role in printing more currency to ‘facilitate’ the 2011 Presidential Elections, he boldly told everyone who cared to listen, that no one “will sack me except may be God.” He went on to tell money markets to ignore “the rumblings in Parliament.”

In 2015, he again survived parliament’s fury over an alleged role in two incidents involving more than Shs2 trillion given to the Defence ministry to purchase fighter jets, and Shs142.7b in compensation to businessman Hassan Bassajjabalaba’s Haba Group of Companies. 

In 2018, following his 7th February sacking and replacement of Justine Bagyenda, the disgraced former Executive Director, Bank Supervision, he openly faced-off with the much-feared Inspector General of Government, Justice Irene Mulyagonja. He told her that the inspectorate “does not have the mandate to give direction to the Bank of Uganda.”

Calling the IGG’s attempts to stop Mutebile’s appointments “impugned” Mutebile further told the government ombudsman that: “Neither His Excellency, the President nor the Parliament of Uganda have ever so brazenly directed the Board of Directors or the Governor in the manner set out in your letter.”

It had to take the intervention of President Museveni to calm the recalcitrant Mutebile.

Mutebile, was first appointed Governor on 1st January 2001 and was re-appointed for a second five-year term on 1 January 2006. In December 2015, he was re-appointed for a fourth five-year term, effective 12 January 2016. By the time he finishes his term in January 2026, he will have been Governor for 25 years, which is more than twice the ten years served by the late Charles Kikonyogo who was Governor from 1990-2000.