The Former Chief Executive Officer of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), Ibrahim Lubega Kaddunabbi, has asked the High Court to quash an Auditor General’s report that accused him of financial and administrative impropriety. He argues that the investigation was conducted outside the Auditor General’s mandate and violated his right to a fair hearing.
Kaddunabbi, through Arcadia Advocates, has filed a judicial review application in the Civil Division of the High Court against the Office of the Auditor General and the Attorney General, challenging a May 15, 2026, report titled “Investigation Report on allegations of financial and administrative impropriety in the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA).”
He wants the court to prohibit the respondents from relying on, implementing or acting on the report and its findings. Kaddunabbi is also seeking general and aggravated damages, as well as costs of the proceedings.
The dispute arose after the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, wrote to the Auditor General on March 19, 2026, requesting an assessment of issues raised by the IRA Board chairman. Subsequently, the Auditor General constituted a team to conduct special audits, investigations and other reviews it considered necessary.
The resulting report accused Kaddunabbi of, among other things, inflating his salary, engaging in irregular recruitment, and incurring excessive expenditure on allowances. However, Kaddunabbi contends that the Auditor General acted outside its statutory mandate by accepting and carrying out the assignment.
He further alleges that the investigation was tainted by illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety, arguing that the Auditor General relied on documents and information whose authenticity had not been verified and failed to consider relevant information provided by other entities. A central dispute concerns his salary adjustments while serving as IRA chief executive.
One of the major issues in dispute is the adjustment of Kaddunabbi’s salary. According to his affidavit, his employment contract allowed limited salary adjustments based on inflation data from the Bank of Uganda. He alleges that the Auditor General instead used core inflation in assessing whether the adjustments were justified.
Kaddunabbi also claims that the IRA Board had approved budgets in successive financial years providing for inflation-related salary increments for staff, including the Chief Executive Officer. He also disputes the Auditor General’s decision to examine employment contracts dating as far back as 2011, arguing that the review period was September 1, 2022, to August 1, 2025.
Some of the contracts considered during the investigation, he says, had already expired and fell outside the period under review. On recruitment, Kaddunabbi says the IRA Board had approved an establishment of 160 positions and that 119 employees were recruited during the 2023/24 financial year in accordance with the approved plan.
According to his affidavit, the IRA Board had approved an establishment of 160 staff positions, and 119 employees were recruited during the 2023/24 financial year in line with the approved plan.
Kaddunabbi further alleges that he was not allowed to respond to the accusations against him before the report was finalised. He claims the Auditor General accepted allegations against him without first giving him a fair hearing.
He also alleges that the investigation was biased and effectively began with a predetermined conclusion after the Auditor General was provided with an internal audit report from the IRA The court battle followed an extraordinary board meeting which maintained an earlier decision not to recommend him for renewal of his contract at the IRA. Kaddunabbi’s challenge to the report is closely linked to an earlier dispute over the renewal of his contract.
He was appointed IRA chief executive by the Minister of Finance on November 6, 2020. His contract took effect on June 1, 2021, and was due to expire on May 31, 2026. On May 28, 2025, Kaddunabbi applied to the IRA Board for a recommendation to the finance minister for renewal of his contract. But the Board declined to recommend him for another term.
He challenged that decision in a separate case, which is awaiting judgment before Lady Justice Joyce Kavuma. Judgment in that matter is expected in September 2026.
In the latest application, Kaddunabbi wants the court to declare the Permanent Secretary’s request to the Auditor General, as well as the Auditor General’s acceptance of the assignment, illegal. He is also seeking an order quashing the May 15 investigation report and prohibiting the respondents from relying on, implementing or acting on its findings.
Kaddunabbi argues that the report has caused him distress and reputational damage and maintains that judicial review is the appropriate remedy. The respondents have not yet filed their defence, and the High Court has not fixed the application for hearing-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
