Paul Mwesigwa, the managing director of the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), has been ordered to go on forced leave, while Lydia Ochieng Obbo, the company’s board chairperson has been sacked in a shake-up that is meant to restore the lost quality of service within the country’s electricity distribution network.

In a statement released on May 2, Ruth Nankabirwa, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, said: “… the services of the Chairperson of the Board have been terminated, and the Managing Director has been placed on forced leave to allow for a comprehensive review of the Company’s management and operations.”

The company is expected to name an acting managing director soon, while Stella-Marie Biwaga Cingtho has been appointed the new board chairperson.

Biwaga, a legal professional and corporate governance expert currently serves on the UEDCL board; having previously served the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) board as well.

In truth, news of Mwesigwa being pushed out of UEDCL has not come as a surprise.

Nankabirwa had by November 2025 called for the sacking of Mwesigwa due to the dropping of standards in the quality of service in the electricity supply industry.

That move was only stemmed in a December 3, 2025 letter, titled, “Halt The Process Of Planned Massive Termination Of UEDCL Senior Management Staff”, where Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja ordered Nankabirwa to call off any plans to terminate the company’s senior executives.

In her letter, Nabbanja had warned that firing any of the senior managers then would be premature as they were still overseeing a vital transition period in the power distribution network, following the UEDCL’s takeover of Umeme’s power distribution contract on April 1, 2025.

In her response to the PM then, Nankabirwa noted that a performance review was already underway, and that it would make “corrective actions to address the identified lapses and restore confidence in UEDCL.”

In her statement today, Nankabirwa said the latest developments were “routine governance and oversight procedures” that will help strengthen institutional performance, accountability, and service delivery.

Biwaga (L) replaces Ochieng-Obbo as UEDCL’s board chairperson

Performance woes

Complaints of poor quality of service from last mile consumers of electricity have dogged UEDCL since it took over from Umeme.

A performance assessment on the company carried out by the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) a few months into its management of the national electricity distribution contract is said to have been critical.

UEDCL’s challenges were always known from the start, however, having been handed threadbare infrastructure that needed urgent refurbishment or replacing amidst financial shortcomings.

Oddly, Nankabirwa had severally asked for patience in regards to the state company, arguing that once it got adequate capital from the government, it would improve the network infrastructure and provide reliable power to consumers.

Incidentally, the infrastructure breakdown was self-inflicted as ERA barred Umeme from making costly capital expenditures as its 20 year power distribution wound down, so as to keep down the buyout amount (the final payment for its unrecovered investments).

In her letter last year, the prime minister warned Nankabiwa against re-introducing the private sector into power distribution without adequate cabinet consultation.

However, Nankabirwa was emphatic that no such plans were in the pipeline, then.