A fresh political storm has erupted after Victoria University Vice Chancellor Dr. Lawrence Muganga publicly accused Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa of frustrating his approval by Parliament’s Appointments Committee.
In a statement shared on X, Dr. Muganga pushed back against claims that his rejection was linked to holding multiple passports. The allegation had been publicly raised by Kasambya County MP Daudi Kabanda, who claimed Muganga possessed Ugandan, Canadian and Rwandan passports, making him unsuitable for a sensitive government position.
However, Dr. Muganga strongly denied the accusation, insisting that he does not hold a Rwandan passport.
The education reform advocate went further, alleging that the passport issue was introduced during the vetting process by Deputy Speaker Tayebwa. According to Muganga, the claims were part of a broader effort to block his appointment and were motivated by hostility toward Banyarwanda.
The accusations have added a dramatic new twist to an already controversial vetting process, with Muganga suggesting that personal and ethnic biases played a role in the outcome.
The Vice Chancellor also defended his commitment to Uganda, pointing to his decision to leave behind lucrative opportunities in Canada after being persuaded by President Yoweri Museveni to contribute to transforming Uganda’s education system.
According to Muganga, he accepted the President’s request despite earning significantly more abroad because he believed in helping reform what he described as a colonial-era education model.
Neither Tayebwa nor the Appointments Committee had publicly responded to Muganga’s latest allegations at the time of publication.
The explosive claims are likely to intensify debate around the vetting process and could trigger fresh political scrutiny as the public waits to see whether more details emerge from either side of the dispute.