The political rift surrounding government export bodies has escalated as the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) officially petitioned the Ministry of Finance to halt an alleged $14 million (about Shs52 billion) payment linked to businessman and presidential adviser Odrek Rwabwogo.
Addressing the media on behalf of the PLU, Kasambya County MP David Kabanda who serves as the Executive Secretary to PLU Chairman and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba stated that no money should be released until the claim is thoroughly verified and the legal status of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID) is clarified.
Kabanda alleged that Thomas Farm Company Limited, a firm linked to Rwabwogo, is seeking compensation for military hardware, helicopters, spare parts, and other supplies allegedly delivered to the government of South Sudan.
“If you supplied the government of South Sudan, why don’t you go to South Sudan and ask them to pay you?” Kabanda questioned, demanding to know why Ugandan taxpayers should foot the bill for supplies delivered to a foreign state.
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The financial claim stems from a historic arrangement involving Ugandan traders who supplied grain to South Sudan between 2008 and 2010. In 2018, Parliament recommended that the government clear $41 million in arrears owed to 10 specific Ugandan companies.
However, Kabanda asserted that Thomas Farm was never among the original government-sanctioned beneficiaries, calling for a official probe into how the firm was added to the compensation roster.
Currently, no formal documents establishing Uganda’s liability for the contract have been made public, and the Ministry of Finance has not confirmed that it is processing the Shs52 billion payout.
In addition to blocking the funds, the PLU has called on all ministries, agencies, and local government authorities to suspend operational dealings with PACEID. Kabanda questioned the committee’s administrative structure, asking who appointed its staff, funds its offices, and audits its financial expenditures.
The PLU’s aggressive stance follows public declarations by Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who recently labeled PACEID an illegal entity and called for corruption investigations into its officials.
Responding to the allegations during a press conference on August 25, 2026, Rwabwogo who chairs PACEID firmly rejected calls to dismantle the committee. He clarified that President Yoweri Museveni lawfully established PACEID on March 16, 2022, to expand global markets for Ugandan exports, later placing it under the Office of the President.
“Only the President who created PACEID has the authority to end its mandate,” Rwabwogo stated, adding that President Museveni confirmed no order had been issued to shut down the committee.
Rwabwogo credited PACEID with driving Uganda’s export growth from $4.5 billion post-COVID-19 to approximately $13 billion. He warned that public political attacks against official trade bodies risk damaging investor confidence and disrupting ongoing plans to build 18 regional agricultural aggregation hubs across Uganda.
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