Ugandan envoy remanded over alleged Sh494 million loss in agriculture funds

Uganda’s consul general in Mombasa, Kenya, has been sent to Luzira Prison over an alleged government loss involving money intended for agricultural activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ambassador Herbert Kiguli denies the accusations. The case concerns his earlier role at Uganda’s agriculture ministry, rather than his diplomatic posting, according to The Independent Uganda, reporting a URN account.

Kiguli, 59, appeared on Monday before Principal Magistrate Christopher Opit at the Anti-Corruption Court. He faces allegations of causing a financial loss of 494 million Ugandan shillings and abusing his office. The Inspectorate of Government, known as the IG, arrested him before the court appearance. After the charges were read and explained, he denied them. The court ordered his detention pending a bail hearing.

Five requests for funds at the centre of the case

Prosecutors place the alleged offences on November 9 and 10, 2020. At that time, Kiguli was commissioner for human resource management at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, or MAAIF, in Entebbe. Their case focuses on documents seeking money through Bukalasa Agricultural College during a period when pandemic restrictions prevented activities from taking place.

According to the prosecution, Kiguli prepared and signed five requests for funds on behalf of the college’s principal. Together, those requests amounted to 614 million shillings. Prosecutors allege the resulting transactions cost the government 494 million shillings. Those are separate figures: one is the total value of the requests, while the other is the alleged loss at issue in the charges.

The IG says the college had neither budgeted for nor anticipated the funding. It also says there was no valid memorandum of understanding—an agreement setting out the financial relationship—between the college and the ministry at the time. The money was reportedly meant to support ministry activities that could not proceed because of COVID-19 restrictions.

A wider inquiry into lockdown spending

The Independent Uganda describes the case as believed to be connected to broader investigations into ministry money sent to Bukalasa Agricultural College and the Fisheries Training Institute in Entebbe. Reports from 2020 put those transfers at about 10.2 billion shillings, paid in instalments for activities that could not be undertaken during lockdown. The IG subsequently found that approximately 8.7 billion shillings had been misappropriated in that wider matter.

The reported spending purposes included industrial training, stationery, teaching materials and livestock-farm renovations. Investigators also questioned payments described as settling students’ food bills, even though students were at home. Some officials were alleged to have withdrawn money for other purposes, including buying private land in prime locations. These wider allegations are distinct from the specific transactions prosecutors attribute to Kiguli.

The IG previously said some ministry and college officials had acknowledged wrongdoing and agreed to repay funds, with recovery measures being pursued. In its statement on the case, the agency urged public officers to follow financial rules and reiterated its commitment to safeguarding public money. Kiguli’s next scheduled court appearance is at midday on October 7, 2026, when his bail application is due to be heard.