The State House Anti-Corruption Unit is investigating the leadership of the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) over allegations of defrauding President Yoweri Museveni in a failed Shs 2.5 billion project last year.
The initiative, titled “Peace Support and Security Protection in the Greater Masaka Region,” was intended to address regional security concerns but never materialized, according to investigators.
Documents reveal that State House had already disbursed Shs 300 million as the first installment of the project’s funding. However, further payments were suspended after it became clear that the president had been misled.
Central to the allegations are Rev Fr. Constantine Mbonabingi, who was the UJCC executive secretary at the time (and is now the first bishop of Juba and All South Sudan), and Rev Fr. Daniel Musiitwa, the deputy executive secretary of UJCC in charge of finance and administration.
On October 16, 2021, a UJCC delegation—comprising Church of Uganda Archbishop Dr. Stephen Kaziimba Mugalu, Rev Fr. Mbonabingi, Rev Fr. Musiitwa, and UJCC programs officer David Muzaale—visited President Museveni at State House. They sought financial backing for two major projects: the Peace Support and Security Protection initiative and an additional Shs 7 billion for the recapitalization of the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund Uganda Ltd (ECLOF).
However, key board members from UJCC, including the provincial secretary of the Church of Uganda, the secretary-general of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, and the vicar general of the Uganda Orthodox Church, were conspicuously absent from the meeting.
Following this gathering, President Museveni instructed Principal Private Secretary Kenneth Omona and State House Comptroller Jane Barekye to release the requested funds. By June 2023, Shs 300 million had been deposited into a new UJCC bank account at Absa Bank, with Mbonabingi and Musiitwa as the authorized signatories.
Investigations have revealed that the Shs 300 million was withdrawn and allegedly misappropriated. After receiving complaints from within the UJCC, State House halted any further funding to the council. The investigators are now trying to determine how the funds were used and why the new account was created without the knowledge of Bishop Anthony Zziwa, the UJCC chairperson.
Further complicating matters, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has frozen UJCC’s accounts in an effort to recover Shs 92 million in unpaid taxes. Allegations have also surfaced that UJCC has opened additional accounts to handle donor funds. The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has initiated legal action against UJCC for failing to remit over Shs 216 million in employee benefits.
Several international donors, including the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF), DIAKONIA, Faith to Action, and the Church of Sweden, have suspended their funding to UJCC, citing concerns about corruption and misuse of donor funds. Some organizations, like FECLAHA, AACC, and the African Union (AU), continue to partner with UJCC but now send their own staff to manage financial matters due to a lack of trust in UJCC’s leadership. Currently, only the JISRA project remains funded through UJCC, though there are growing concerns about potential misuse of these funds as well.
It is alleged that Fr. Musiitwa, along with a project officer named William and an assistant accountant named Hellen, are the main beneficiaries of the JISRA funds. Some sources claim that Hellen has used the funds to build a new house.
The UJCC board of trustees consists of nine members, including three bishops representing the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox churches. In addition to the bishops, the board includes three technical officials: the provincial secretary of the Church of Uganda, the secretary-general of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, and the vicar general of the Uganda Orthodox Church.
