IGG exposes over 180 secret recruitments at Parliament, calls for dismissal of unqualified staff

The Inspectorate of Government (IGG) has exposed widespread recruitment irregularities at Uganda's Parliament, revealing that 182 employees secured jobs without public advertisements, while others lacked the required academic qualifications.

The findings appear in an August 2026 human resource audit submitted to President Yoweri Museveni by Inspector General of Government Justice Aisha Naluzze Batala.

The report also faults the Parliamentary Commission for promoting new employees ahead of long-serving staff and maintaining senior management positions that serve little purpose.

According to the audit, Parliament stopped advertising vacancies after the Parliamentary Commission resolved on September 16, 2021, to recruit employees through headhunting or from lists of former interns.

Between October 2021 and March 2026, the commission recruited 182 people through these methods. No vacancies were publicly advertised between October 2021 and June 2026.

"The failure to advertise vacancies between October 2021 and June 2026 disenfranchised eligible Ugandans from employment opportunities with the Parliament Commission and likewise denied Parliament access to the best skill set," Justice Naluzze wrote to Museveni.

The investigators found that although Parliament's human resource manual provided different recruitment methods, it failed to specify when each method should apply.

They warned that this loophole allowed commissioners to select recruitment methods that suited their personal interests.

The IGG said Parliament should reserve headhunting, nominations and secondments for staff working closely with the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Opposition. Other vacancies should undergo competitive recruitment.

The report also questioned the commissioners' ability to conduct recruitment, saying investigators found no evidence that they possessed the necessary expertise.

The IGG proposed involving experts from the Public Service Commission in recruitment and disciplinary matters.

The audit raised further concerns about the academic qualifications of parliamentary employees.

Investigators found that some staff lacked the minimum entry requirements for their positions, while others held qualifications unrelated to their duties.

Some drivers, for instance, had failed to obtain the required grades at Ordinary Level. The report singled out employees who scored F9 in English and others who lacked the required number of subject passes.

The IGG recommended terminating the employment contracts of staff who did not meet the minimum entry requirements.

It also proposed competency tests for employees whose qualifications did not match their positions. Those who passed could move to suitable jobs, while those who failed would face possible dismissal.

The audit also uncovered weaknesses in Parliament's promotion system.

Investigators found that the Parliamentary Commission's human resource manual lacked clear rules governing promotions.

In her letter to Museveni, Justice Naluzze reported that some newly recruited employees had received promotions ahead of their more experienced colleagues.

The absence of promotion guidelines made it difficult to determine whether individual promotions had breached established procedures.

The report recommended a clear promotion policy to guide future appointments.

The IGG also questioned the need for several senior officials in the Office of the Clerk to Parliament.

Although the approved structure provided for four directors, investigators found five serving in the office.

A job evaluation placed the directors' roles below 70 per cent on the assessment scale. Investigators concluded that the duties did not require director-level officers and could be handled by technical officers at principal level.

"The scorecard is indicative of the fact that the Directors under the Office of the Clerk are largely redundant with limited output," the report states.

The IGG recommended abolishing the four director positions or reducing them to one.

Justice Naluzze also urged Parliament to redirect salaries and other benefits paid to redundant directors towards more critical functions.

The investigators questioned Parliament's staffing structure, including 23 office supervisors and assistant officers alongside 29 office attendants. They found no justification for maintaining 52 employees across these closely related roles.

The report further identified a potential conflict of interest in Parliament's Finance Department, where finance, procurement and inventory management fall under one director.

It recommended separating some functions to prevent one office from controlling several stages of public expenditure.

The audit covered recruitment, promotion and staff deployment between October 2021 and June 2026. It found 773 occupied positions against an approved establishment of 893, leaving 120 vacancies at the time.

The findings come as Parliament conducts a fresh verification of employees' academic qualifications, appointment letters and promotion records.

The exercise, which began on October 19, 2026, seeks to establish whether staff meet the requirements for their positions.

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has warned employees against seeking political intervention to protect jobs they may not qualify to hold.

Parliamentary Commissioner Susan Jolly Abeja has also said employees with forged academic documents face dismissal, while those who received irregular promotions could be reassigned to suitable positions. Monitor+1

However, the IGG's findings do not establish that all 182 employees lacked academic qualifications or that their appointments have been cancelled.

The Parliamentary Commission has yet to announce how many employees, if any, will lose their jobs following the verification exercise.