Rubondo’s PAU exit closes with a delayed send-off

What the report says

The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) held a farewell event for its founding executive director, Ernest Rubondo, at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel in Kampala, after his departure took effect on 31 August. Uganda Business News reported that the send-off came nearly a month later and followed intervention by Energy Minister Monica Musenero, who helped arrange the ceremony. Rubondo had completed two five-year terms, the maximum permitted under the law that created the regulator.

The article said the gathering brought together senior government officials and industry figures, including Musenero, her junior minister Phiona Nyamutooro, permanent secretary Irene Batebe, PAU board chair Lynda Biribonwa, acting executive director Michael Otonga-Ochan, and executives from TotalEnergies, the Uganda National Oil Company and EACOP Ltd. Speakers praised Rubondo’s role in building the authority from its early days. PAU was established under Uganda’s 2013 petroleum law to oversee the oil sector from exploration to retail.

Uganda Business News also placed the farewell in the context of a wider leadership transition at PAU. Fred Kabanda has been named as Rubondo’s successor and is expected to take office on 1 December, while Otonga-Ochan is serving in the interim. The report said the succession process had taken time amid board deliberations and salary discussions. The story matters because PAU sits at the centre of Uganda’s developing oil industry, making leadership changes there closely watched by officials, investors and sector stakeholders.