COSASE Orders Arrest of Microfinance Support Centre Bosses

What the report says

Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) has ordered the arrest of senior officials from the Microfinance Support Centre after they missed committee summons for a second time. According to Nile Post, the move comes as lawmakers intensify scrutiny of the state-backed lender over major financial losses and unrecovered loans flagged by the Auditor General.

The committee’s concerns include a reported Shs67 billion loss in Phase 2, a loan write-off of Shs63.57 billion that was not recovered, and Shs6.5 billion in loans said to be backed by expired security guarantees, some of which had lapsed years earlier. Lawmakers also questioned the governance of the institution, including the role of Executive Director John Peter Mujuni and the approval process for the loan write-offs.

COSASE members argued that the repeated failure of the Microfinance Support Centre’s leadership to appear before Parliament amounted to disregard for the committee’s authority. They said the summons had been properly served and moved to use the committee’s powers to compel attendance, instructing the Clerk and police to secure arrest warrants and bring the officials before lawmakers.

The committee also summoned the ministers representing government’s shareholding interests in the Microfinance Support Centre to address the matter. The case highlights broader concerns about public accountability, financial oversight and the handling of institutions that manage government-linked lending programmes in Uganda.