Former Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Principal, Prof. Waswa Balunywa, has been remanded to Luzira Prison on corruption-related charges stemming from allegations of illegal staff recruitment at the public university.
Prof. Balunywa appeared before Chief Magistrate Reachel Nakyazze after two sets of criminal summons were issued against him.
According to the prosecution, while still serving as Principal of MUBS, Prof. Balunywa abused his office between February and April 2023 by irregularly recruiting three individuals—James Arike, Nathan Nuwagira, and Nimrod Kakayi—as Administrative Assistants, despite their lack of the required academic qualifications.
The prosecution further stated that the illegal recruitment resulted in undue financial costs to the government, forming the basis of the corruption case.
Prof. Balunywa is jointly charged with Jacqueline Namaganda, the former Acting Human Resource Director at MUBS and currently the Chief Quality Assurance Officer. Namaganda faces three counts of neglect of duty for allegedly failing to verify the eligibility of the recruited individuals before their appointment.
Namaganda was granted cash bail of Shs 4 million last week.
Meanwhile, the state has opened another case file against Prof. Balunywa, involving the alleged illegal recruitment of over 103 academic staff, 17 administrative officers, and 69 support staff—appointments that fall under the sole mandate of the Appointments Committee.
Prof. Balunywa has denied the charges and applied for bail, presenting four sureties. The court is set to rule on his bail application on Friday, September 5.
