Pearl Bank names new legal,  cybersecurity chiefs

Pearl Bank has appointed Dorcas Kiwemba Balimukuubo as Chief Legal Officer and Company Secretary and confirmed Steven Mwesige as Chief Information Security Officer, strengthening its leadership in governance and digital security.

Balimukuubo joined the bank in June 2026, while Mwesige’s confirmation took effect in July 2026 after a year in an acting capacity.

The two executives bring more than 29 years of combined experience in financial services, technology and risk management.

Balimukuubo has worked in financial services for over 14 years. Her experience covers board governance, regulatory compliance, legal risk management and advice to senior management.

Before joining Pearl Bank, she spent more than eight years at Standard Chartered Bank Uganda as Country Legal Counsel and Assistant Company Secretary. She supported the board, executive management and business teams on legal and governance matters.

She previously held several legal positions at Ecobank Uganda, including Acting Head of Legal. Earlier, she practised at Capital Law Partners & Advocates, handling corporate, commercial, banking and litigation matters.

Her work has included managing litigation and external lawyers, overseeing company secretarial functions and advising on major transactions. At Pearl Bank, she takes on a role central to legal oversight and corporate governance.

Balimukuubo holds a Bachelor of Laws with honours from Makerere University and a graduate qualification from the Chartered Governance Institute, UK and Ireland. She belongs to the Uganda Law Society and the East African Law Society.

Mwesige has more than 15 years of experience in information technology, cybersecurity and enterprise risk management.

Since rejoining the bank in September 2020, he has led changes to its cybersecurity function. According to his profile, he also led the bank’s efforts to obtain ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard certifications.

He served as Acting Chief Information Security Officer from July 2025 to June 2026. Before that, he was Head of ICT Security and Governance and Manager of ICT Security and Data Protection.

Mwesige previously worked as an ICT Risk Officer at Bank of Africa Uganda. His career also includes roles at Summit Consulting, the Institute of Forensics and ICT Security, and the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda.

His expertise covers data protection, security operations, regulatory compliance, cyber risk and responsible artificial intelligence governance.

He holds an Executive MBA in Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain with distinction from Guglielmo Marconi University in Italy and a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from Uganda Christian University.

His professional qualifications include certifications in risk governance, cyber risk governance, information security management implementation and ethical hacking. He also completed Harvard University’s executive programme in Managing Risk in the Information Age.

Mwesige serves as Governor of the Uganda Chapter of the Global Council for Responsible AI and chairs the Pearl Bank Staff SACCO.