A new investigation has been ordered by President Museveni into whether staff at Uganda Wildlife Authority conspired with Chinese diplomats to export illegal ivory.
Five senior officials were suspended two years ago after it was discovered that confiscated f the 1,335 kilogrammes (2,943 pounds) of ivory had gone missing from the UWA strongroom.
The outcome of the initial investigation, which involved Interpol, was never made public, although the international police network did carry out sting operations on trafficking networks throughout East Africa in 2015.
Uganda Police have made several large seizures of ivory since then – some destined for Singapore.
Ali Munira, spokeswoman for the Inspectorate General of Government (IGG) ombudsman, did not name the Chinese diplomats but said the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) was under suspicion.
“The president’s directive to the IGG is to have all these accusations investigated and if there is a prima facie case, the executive director (of the UWA) should be suspended alongside other officials,” said Munira.
UWA ED Dr Andrew Sseguya (pictured up) maintained his innocence saying he initiated the audit after the reported missing ivory.
Officials at the Chinese Embassy in Kampala were unavailable for comment.
Uganda is thought to be a major transit point for trafficking ivory from the Central African Republic, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
