MPs question UHRC director Nansamba over holding multiple roles

What the report says

Members of Uganda’s parliament have raised concerns about Pauline Nansamba Mutumba, the Uganda Human Rights Commission’s director of complaints, investigations and legal services, during a COSASE review of the commission’s affairs. According to The Observer, MPs questioned how she moved from serving as a personal assistant to UHRC chairperson Mariam Wangadya in 2021 to senior management roles, and whether those promotions complied with public service rules.

The committee also examined her current workload. Mutumba reportedly holds her substantive post while also acting as director of monitoring and inspections and chairing internal committees, prompting questions about how the extra duties were assigned and approved. MPs additionally focused on wider accountability issues at UHRC, including allegations that commission activity funds were deposited into personal bank accounts belonging to staff members, among them Mutumba and chairperson’s assistant Doreen Nabatte. COSASE directed police investigators to obtain bank statements for the 2024/25 financial year and asked the two women to provide statements.

The hearing also touched on how the commission closes human rights complaints. MPs cited a case from Bundibugyo and challenged the timing and procedure used in ending it. Mutumba said she did not have authority to close cases, arguing that this rests with the commission, while commissioners said some complainants had objected to closures they said happened without notice. The exchange forms part of a broader parliamentary probe into UHRC’s management, complaint handling and use of public resources.