Uganda’s Mombasa consul jailed pending bail hearing over Shs494 million loss case

Uganda’s representative in Mombasa, appointed to oversee commercial and diplomatic relations along the country’s main coastal trade corridor, has been sent to prison pending a bail hearing over alleged losses from an earlier government job. Ambassador Herbert Kiguli denies the charges, according to Daily Monitor Uganda (direct). The case concerns an alleged government loss of Shs494,097,270, or about 494 million Ugandan shillings, linked to funding requests made while he worked at the agriculture ministry.

Kiguli, 59, appeared at the Anti-Corruption Court in Kololo after his arrest by the Inspectorate of Government, Uganda’s anti-graft agency. Principal Magistrate Christopher Opit had the charges of causing financial loss and abuse of office read and explained to him. Kiguli denied all of them. The court ordered him held at Luzira Prison until October 7, 2026, at midday, when his application for bail — release from custody while the case proceeds — is due to be heard.

Five requests at the centre of the case

Prosecutors traced the allegations to November 9 and 10, 2020. At the time, Kiguli was Commissioner for Human Resource Management at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries in Entebbe. They allege that he prepared and signed five requests for funds on behalf of the principal of Bukalasa Agricultural College. Those requests totalled Shs614,768,000, a larger sum than the financial loss alleged in the charges.

The prosecution says that authorisation led directly to the government losing Shs494,097,270. Principal Inspectorate Officer William Moses Ntumwa presented the prosecution’s account alongside Inspectorate Officers Milly Namuwanga and Jennifer Katusiime. Their allegations relate to Kiguli’s civil-service work before his diplomatic appointment, rather than to spending at the Mombasa consulate.

According to investigative findings by the Inspectorate of Government cited in the report, the college had neither budgeted for nor expected the money when the requests were made. Investigators also said there was no valid memorandum of understanding — an agreement setting out the working arrangement — governing financial dealings between the college and the ministry.

The funds were supposedly intended for various ministry activities. Investigators said those activities could not have taken place because of the strict Covid-19 restrictions then in force. That account forms part of the allegations against Kiguli, who has rejected the charges; the court appearance described in the report was not a determination of guilt.

A trade-facing posting, an earlier spending dispute

Kiguli is a long-serving public official and human resource management specialist. He was appointed to lead Uganda’s consulate in Mombasa, Kenya, in October 2024. His role covers commercial and diplomatic relations along Uganda’s primary coastal trade corridor, placing his current posting in a different setting from the agricultural ministry transactions now before the court.

After the hearing, the Inspectorate of Government reaffirmed its commitment to protecting public money and warned officials against departing from financial management rules in their work.

The Inspectorate of Government urged public officers to follow established financial management rules when carrying out their duties.

For Kiguli, the next scheduled step is the bail hearing at midday on October 7, 2026. That hearing will address his request for release from custody as he contests the financial-loss and abuse-of-office charges.