The Director of Complaints, Investigations and Legal Services at the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Pauline Nansamba Mutumba, has come under scrutiny over her rapid rise within the commission, multiple responsibilities and the handling of human rights complaints.
As Mutumba appeared before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) chaired by Muwada Nkunyingi, MPs questioned how she rose from personal assistant to then UHRC Chairperson Mariam Wangadya to one of the commission’s senior directors.
According to submissions before the committee, Mutumba was headhunted by Wangadya and joined the commission on October 1, 2021, as a personal assistant to the chairperson.
She was promoted to Principal Human Resource Officer in 2023 before rising to her current position as Director of Complaints, Investigations and Legal Services.
MPs questioned whether her promotions complied with public service regulations and whether there were exceptional circumstances that justified her rapid rise through the commission.
The committee heard that Mutumba currently holds several additional responsibilities, besides her position as Director of Complaints, Investigations and Legal Services. She is acting Director of Monitoring and Inspections and also chairs the Contracts and Fleet Management Commiteess.
The concentration of responsibilities in one officer raised questions about the process through which the assignments were made and whether they received the necessary approval of the commission.
In 2025, Mutumba was also assigned additional duties following the splitting of some responsibilities previously held by the then Accounting Officer, Margaret Lucy Ejang.
Mutumba told MPs that she received a letter assigning her additional responsibilities in administration, including writing minutes of the commission.
The committee also scrutinised the practice of depositing commission activity funds into personal accounts of staff, including Mutumba and Doreen Nabatte, a personal assistant to the chairperson.
The committee directed the Police Criminal Investigations Directorate at Parliament to obtain bank statements for the 2024/2025 financial year to establish the nature and movement of funds deposited on the two accounts.
Mutumba and Nabatte were also asked to record statements with police regarding the money they received through their personal accounts.
The committee’s inquiry into the financial transactions is part of broader scrutiny of UHRC’s financial management and accountability.
MPs also questioned Mutumba over the closure of human rights complaints, with Commissioner Simeo Muwanga Nsubuga citing the case of Godfrey Kierere from Bundibugyo.
Kierere’s complaint was reportedly closed on March 4, 2026, after the commission found that the police officer accused in the case had acted in self-defence.
However, Nsubuga questioned the timing and procedure of the closure, noting that the complainant was reportedly informed about the decision about three months after the last tribunal sitting in December 2025.
The matter triggered a heated exchange between MPs, commissioners and UHRC officials over who had authority to close cases.
Mutumba told the committee that she did not have powers to close cases, saying the authority rests with the commission.
She said her role was to communicate decisions of the commission in accordance with her responsibilities, including her role as registrar to the tribunal.
Mutumba told MPs that in 2025, 136 files were handled by the tribunal, of which 35 were awarded and 101 dismissed. She added that 411 additional files were closed in the same year.
In 2026, she said, another 428 files had been closed, although commissioners told the committee that they had not collectively taken a position on all the closures.
Commissioner Jacklet Atuhaire said some complainants had protested that their cases were closed without their knowledge.
She cited cases in which complainants had been asked to return with witnesses at subsequent tribunal sessions but later discovered that their complaints had been closed.
Commissioners maintained that cases before the tribunal should be considered and determined through the prescribed process, with complaints either awarded, dismissed or adjourned.
The committee also questioned Mutumba over allegations that she travelled in business class despite her position, as well as procurement procedures and the use of commission resources.
COSASE is continuing to examine UHRC’s financial management, administrative decisions, recruitment and promotion procedures and the handling of human rights complaints.
The committee is also expected to scrutinise the practice of assigning multiple responsibilities to individual officers and the accountability of funds channelled through personal accounts-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
