Some sections of the public especially in Kampala are bitter over failure by Bank of Uganda (BOU) to crack a whip on Centenary Bank’s 5.51billion scandal.
Is Bank of Uganda failing in its regulatory role?
The eastafricanwatch.net recently sent two emails to the bank’s communication department and we did not receive any response from BOU.
The mails were a follow up to a call we made to Tumubweine Twinemanzi the Executive Director of the Bank Supervision Directorate of the Bank of Uganda.
Twinemanzi when asked to comment on the centenary bank scandal he said it’s only the bank’s director of communication who could comment.  We have since failed to receive any response from BOU about the Centenary case.
Back ground of the case;
 The Catholic-Based Bank continues to be embroiled in Massive Fraud, Cover-Ups, and Injustice
Centenary Bank (Uganda) the second leading financial institution with a strong Catholic heritage has been rocked by two massive frauds totaling sh 5.51 billion shillings in less than a year. The scandals have exposed glaring management and supervisory inefficiencies, system weaknesses, and a culture of cover-ups and impunity.
The eastafricanwatch.net has learnt that On October 4, 2023, a 3.56 Billion Shillings fraud hit the bank. MTN Mobile Money transactions were posted from Kabale Branch to registered company Telephone lines, with each receiving between 80 million to 99 million shillings. Despite a stagnated criminal case (KMP GEF 440/2023), no prosecutions have been made for lack of evidence.
First forward, August 1;Â
2024 a 1.95 Billion Shillings fraud occurred as transactions were posted directly from the Core Banking System to Agent Banking float accounts, with each receiving 50 million shillings.
Source said that the most alarming issue was compromised Mapeera Branch Teller Profiles which were used to post all these
transactions. Forensic analysis of the Core-Banking System was blocked. This was critical in ascertaining the possibility of password resets of these affected Mapeera Branch Tellers.
 Injustice and Cover-Ups:
Innocent Junior IT staff (Senabulya Ronald, Kasajja Umar, Martin
Kaweesi, Katusabe Godfrey, and Lubowa Edward) were sacrificed and dismissed based on unsubstantiated allegations. The above formed staff of the bank have not been prosecuted maybe due to lack of evidence.
Source said that the external forensic experts failed to uncover the root cause due to alleged lack of cooperation from these key parties where top leaders(managers) including the Head of Core Banking and Head of Agent Banking, remained untouched despite potential involvement.
Here are fundamental questions Unanswered:
– Why has Centenary Bank failed to recover all the stolen funds externally yet continues to implicate internal innocent Staff.
– Why have top leaders especially those heading those affected departments not been investigated or held accountable despite glaring evidence of obstruction of investigations?
– What role has the bank’s internal investigation department played in covering up these scandals?
Check below the details of the transactions of 3.56billion which is suspected to be part of the sh 5.51 billion shillings fraud that has occurred in less than a year at Centenary bank;Â
Some sources close to this matter believe that in order to bring out the truth, Bank of Uganda, the Board of Directors of Centenary Bank should attend to the recommendations listed below;
- Investigate Management and supervisory inefficiencies.
- Address system weaknesses and internal investigation process flaws.
- Ensure accountability, transparency, and integrity.
- Protect innocent staff from unfair dismissals.
The concerned source further stated “as a Catholic based institution, Centenary Bank must uphold the values of accountability, transparency, and integrity. We cannot tolerate corruption and injustice in the Banking Sector. The different stakeholders please restore Centenary Bank to order”.
The eastafricanwatch.net failed to reach the affected former bank staff but sources at the bank reveal that they were unfairly dismissed and that it is obvious that they will seek justice over unfair dismissal from the bank.
Efforts to get comment from the Police in Kampala were futile. At the same time the bank Managing Director Fabian Kasi and Joseph Balikuddembe the bank’s executive Director could not respond to comment on this case.
The bank shared a statement. Check the statement below;
Some customer said they wish that such cases of fraud are fully investigated by the bank’s top management to stop other such frauds and punish the actual staffs that are involved or believed to be involved in the fraud.
The customer said they are put in panic if these frauds happen since they may indirectly affect them. Some demanded action to be taken by BOU to safeguard the bank and said they panic when such frauds continue to happen.
Bank of Uganda, is the country’s central bank and national banking regulator. We have seen it swing in action to close failing banks some years back.
