The Inspectorate of Government has opened probes into claims of embezzlement, abuse of office, money laundering and maladministration at the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).

Inspector General of Government Lady Justice Aisha Batala has ordered the interdiction of URSB Registrar General Mercy Kainobwisho together with three other senior officers over the corruption allegations.

The move follows a directive from President Yoweri Museveni requiring senior URSB officials to proceed on forced leave so that investigations into a range of accusations—including corruption, abuse of office and money laundering—can proceed unhindered.

Kainobwisho is under investigation for alleged embezzlement of government funds, abuse of office, institutional mismanagement, money laundering and maladministration.

The three other officials named are Deputy Registrar General Alex Anganya, Commissioner for ICT and Innovations Arthur Kwesiga, and Assistant Commissioner for Business Registration Services Walid Kule.

The IGG has further directed the suspension of URSB’s executive training programme at NALI, Kyankwanzi, pending the outcome of the investigations.

The current action builds on earlier developments. On 24 July 2026, President Museveni wrote to Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Norbert Mao ordering that key URSB officials be placed on leave and instructing an immediate forensic audit.

He directed the IGG to lead the inquiry, assisted by State House auditors, and asked that URSB Board Chairman Ambassador Francis Butagira be summoned.

Five senior officers—including Kainobwisho, Commissioner for Business Registration Gilbert Agaba, Anganya, Kule and Kwesiga—were subsequently served with forced-leave letters on 14 August 2026 after forensic auditors had begun work at the Bureau’s Kampala headquarters.

URSB later confirmed that an audit was under way “in accordance with established procedures and applicable laws,” while stressing that service delivery remained uninterrupted.

The presidential intervention followed internal complaints, notably from Agaba, who had written to URSB management alleging serious governance and accountability failures.

These included claims of inflated contracts for ICT systems development and maintenance, money laundering linked to the Non-Individual Register project, misappropriation of Bureau funds, irregular procurements, fraudulent registrations, weak financial controls and under-collection of revenue.

Agaba himself was among those placed on leave.

Earlier, in September 2025, the Inspectorate of Government had already sought explanations from URSB over separate allegations of abuse of office, influence peddling and conflict of interest involving a then board secretary.

The investigations remain ongoing, and no findings have yet been made public.