The Inspectorate of Government has directed the Chief Administrative Officer of Luweero District, Innocent Birekeyaho Asaba, to take disciplinary action against two employees of Luweero General Hospital for persistent absenteeism.
Following an investigation by the Inspectorate’s Mukono Regional Office, Augustine Kaweesa, a nutritionist, and Peter Mubiru, an artisan mate, were found guilty of gross neglect of duty after repeatedly failing to report for work without authorisation from their supervisors.
According to the Inspectorate’s findings, Kaweesa reported to work only four times between January 1 and February 19, 2024, while Mubiru showed up on just six occasions during the same period.
The due, however, earned the full salary for the months in question.
“These actions constitute a clear violation of the Uganda Public Standing Orders, 2021, which prohibit public officers from absenting themselves without permission,” said Deputy Inspector General of Government Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe in a statement accompanying the disciplinary directive.
The hospital’s medical superintendent corroborated the findings and confirmed the staff members' absenteeism.
Investigators further discovered that Mubiru has been concurrently employed as a laboratory assistant on contract at Kiwoko Hospital since November 2018.
This dual employment during official government working hours contravenes Section F-e, Paragraph 1 of the Public Standing Orders, which prohibit public servants from engaging in other gainful work during official hours.
“The rules are clear: a public officer shall not engage in any occupation or undertaking for gain during official working hours,” said Muhairwe.
“This misconduct undermines the integrity of the public service.”
The CAO has been instructed to take appropriate disciplinary measures and report back to the Inspectorate with details of the actions taken.
“The directive sends a strong message that laxity and divided loyalty in the public sector will not be tolerated,” Muhairwe added.
“The Inspectorate remains committed to promoting accountability, professionalism, and discipline across all levels of government.”
The move forms part of a broader effort by the Inspectorate of Government to enforce ethical conduct and restore efficiency in Uganda’s public service.
In October last year, President Museveni ordered the dismissal of Dr Godfrey Bonane Pariyo, an orthopaedic consultant at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, following complaints of chronic absenteeism.
“I am going to dismiss him in the public interest,” Museveni wrote in an October 16 directive to the Ministry of Public Service.
The President’s letter cited repeated complaints that Dr Pariyo was “most of the time absent” and used the opportunity to revisit the long-standing controversy surrounding moonlighting by government-employed doctors.
He did not disclose the complainants or whether an investigation had been conducted, but suggested that such complaints “rhyme with the sentiment that was being expressed in one of the caucuses.”
Moonlighting among public doctors—often attributed to poor pay in government facilities—has remained a contentious issue.
While countries like Rwanda have banned public health workers from engaging in private practice, Uganda’s attempts to enforce similar rules have consistently faltered, leading to ongoing frustration among patients and citizens.
Museveni questioned whether government doctors should continue to be allowed to work in private practice.
“We had allowed this because we had few doctors. Now the doctors are many and some are unemployed. Could we now make it a point for dismissal from government service for any government doctor to work for private practice?” he asked.
He instructed Minister Wilson Muruli Mukasa to consult what he called “patriotic doctors” for advice on what he described as “traitorous public servants,” whose conduct he said had even sparked discussions about placing all civil servants on fixed-term contracts.
“I have resisted contracts in the past because I did not want our public servants to ‘Kuhahaara’—to constantly live in worry,” the President said, although he added that such contracts could be misused by supervisors to coerce employees into wrongdoing.
Citing the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) as a model, Museveni said soldiers enjoy permanent and pensionable terms but are governed by strict standard operating procedures—a level of discipline he implied was lacking in the wider public service.
He concluded by directing the Ministry to revise the standing orders to simplify and expedite disciplinary action against errant public servants.
The President’s intervention added to the growing list of instances where he has directly stepped into civil service affairs—an approach that continues to attract both praise and criticism from different quarters.