With a heavy heart, staff terminated at Air Uganda

Most of the 231 staff of Air Uganda were handed their termination letters, ending the services of a group of dedicated employees, many of whom were with the company since it started flight operations 7 years ago.

It is understood that for most it was an emotional, at times tearful and certainly traumatic turning-point in their professional lives and careers, and those spoken to were unanimous in categorically blaming and condemning the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, including fingering several individuals by name, for destroying their livelihoods over what was broadly described as “ulterior motives.”

All the affected staff, a few have remained with the airline for another few weeks to continue completing pending work, were paid their terminal dues in full, an act, in the words of a more senior staff among those terminated, showing that the airline continues to respect the laws of the land and complied with requirements as set out by the Ugandan labor laws when declaring staff redundant.

“If and when we get the AOC [Air Operators Certificate] for international operations back, we hope to be called to reapply and resume duties. We were a family at Air Uganda, and it was us who flew Uganda’s colors through the skies of East Africa. We were the Wings of East Africa. Many of us know that there is a clique of people at the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] in Entebbe who were prepared to go out of their way to stop us and promote their own projects. Several of us are already consulting with lawyers what we can do, not against our airline but against the CAA people who are responsible for this. Their action has turned justice on its head,” said one individual on condition of anonymity.

On a different note, it was suggested by several contacts that in an almost vulture-like behavior, grabbers are standing by to rush for U7’s premises at Entebbe International Airport in case that the UCAA orders Air Uganda to surrender their leases, and it has been alleged that this could be done for no other reason but to ensure the airline would end up with no offices at the airport, when they finally get their AOC back.

Meanwhile, it was reliably learned that a senior staff of the UCAA in conversations with the Kajjansi air operators apparently claimed that the withdrawal of the international flights from them was a result of 1) it was in the public interest and 2) it was an emergency – confirming what many in the industry have said now for weeks, that senior staff of the UCAA have gone utterly out of control and are plain bonkers and now openly display what has invariably been described as “incompetence, ignorance and arrogance.” When reportedly challenged to expand on these mad reasons he then, again reportedly, went on to claim that “reasoning is that if Uganda failed the audit then it would be embarrassing for the Republic of Uganda, and, therefore, the public interest is best served by avoiding this embarrassment. It was also an emergency because it would be VERY embarrassing.”

This for the first time confirms the suspicions that it was after all a face-saving attempt, in the process killing off an entire industry which took many years and tens of millions of US dollars to build, with callous, almost criminal disregard of the consequences for staff and shareholders of the affected companies.

According to added details received, this has also been handed over to the respective legal teams which are now working full swing to establish a prima facie case against the regulatory authority and those key staff who are thought to have conceived the action and allegedly conspired among them to keep the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) off their backs and willingly, knowingly, and perhaps even with malice, maybe even cherishing the chance to settle old scores sacrificed several airlines in the process? Many questions and for now no answers other than the predictable smokescreens and fake outrage that the media, the public at large, and the airlines affected dare to ask such questions. Perhaps a reminder is in order that the words “transparency and accountability” do exist and are meant to be used to unearth the truth and cut right through the mud-throwing, innuendo, and insinuations by the regulatory mouthpieces.

Constituting a formal Commission of Enquiry, there is now also a very real possibility which would finally compel the masterminds behind this saga to be called upon under oath to testify and face the consequences if they would dare to perjure themselves and be caught in the act.