Uganda Airlines: Who Owns It, and Where Has Shs1.98 Trillion Gone?

[Da Dona]

Uganda Airlines is wholly owned by the Government of Uganda. The two shareholders are the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Works and Transport. Government has repeatedly affirmed this ownership structure, most recently in July 2026.

But the latest Auditor General’s report raises a different accountability question: how is the government’s investment in its national carrier being legally and financially reflected?

According to the audit, government has invested about Shs1.984 trillion in Uganda Airlines since its revival. Yet only Shs200 million is recognised as share capital in the airline’s books. The remainder is recorded as share application funds and government capitalisation pending conversion.

That means the question is not whether there is a hidden private shareholder owning the other 99.99 percent. There is no evidence in the current records that private individuals own the balance. Rather, the issue is why billions of shillings provided by the government have not been formally reflected as equity.

So, where did the 0.01% claim come from?
The confusion dates back to 2019, when documents presented to Parliament appeared to show that the government held only a tiny fraction of Uganda Airlines’ shares. Parliament subsequently questioned the ownership structure, while the then Works and Transport Minister stated that government would have full control, with one million shares held by the Ministry of Works and Transport and another one million by the Ministry of Finance.

The Civil Aviation Authority also subsequently described Uganda Airlines as a government-owned company, with the two ministries as shareholders.

Therefore, presenting the old 0.01% figure as the airline’s current ownership would be misleading.

What does the Shs1.984 trillion mean?
The Auditor General's finding points to a capitalisation and governance issue.

Government has put nearly Shs2 trillion into the airline, but the airline's formal share capital remains only Shs200 million. The audit says the balance is awaiting conversion into share capital.

For taxpayers, this creates legitimate questions:

• Why has the conversion of the government’s investment not been completed?
• How much of the Shs1.984 trillion is share application money and how much is government capitalisation?
• When was each injection made and under what approval?
• Who is responsible for completing the conversion?
• What is the current value of government’s equity in Uganda Airlines?
• Does the company’s registered shareholding accurately reflect the full public investment?
• What safeguards exist to ensure additional government funding is properly recorded?

These are important questions because ownership and investment are not the same thing. Government can provide money to a company without that money automatically becoming additional share capital until the necessary corporate and legal processes are completed.

The financial picture
The ownership question comes as Uganda Airlines continues to depend heavily on public support.

For the 2024/25 financial year, the airline recorded a net loss of Shs230.8 billion, despite a 19.2 percent increase in revenue. Trade and other payables also rose to about Shs235.7 billion, up from Shs171.7 billion the previous year.

The Auditor General also flagged weaknesses involving fuel procurement, cash management, contracts and aircraft availability. Among the findings was $17.38 million in fuel payments made without a valid fuel supply contract, while cash collections of about $103,492 at the Juba office were not banked as required.

The airline therefore faces a broader question than ownership: Can nearly Shs2 trillion in public investment eventually produce a financially sustainable national carrier?

What happens next?
Government says it remains committed to Uganda Airlines. In April 2026, the Ministry of Finance described the airline as a government-owned national asset, while the board said the carrier still requires recapitalisation to acquire aircraft, meet route demand and improve reliability.

In July, Finance Minister Henry Musasizi again described the airline as 100 percent government-owned and called for reforms to make it profitable and reliable.

That commitment, however, makes financial accountability even more important.
The key issue is therefore no longer “Who owns the other 99.99 percent?”

The evidence available today points to the Government of Uganda owning 100 percent.

The more important question is:
Why has government invested Shs1.984 trillion in an airline whose books still formally recognise only Shs200 million as share capital — and when will the outstanding investment be fully converted and transparently accounted for?



Report by Chimp reports​