UNMC moves to install interim CEO and company secretary after IGG interdictions

The Uganda National Mining Company (UNMC) is reportedly moving to put interim leadership in place after the Inspectorate of Government ordered the interdiction of its Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary.

Sources familiar with the process said an Acting Chief Executive Officer will be seconded from the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), while an Acting Company Secretary will be drawn from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

According to the sources, Lyoidah Kiconco, who previously served as Head of Exploration and New Ventures at UNOC, will act as Chief Executive Officer, while Loyola Karobwa, a Senior Legal Officer at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, will act as Company Secretary.

The arrangements are understood to have been agreed between the Minister of Energy and the UNMC Board.

The move follows a directive issued by the Inspectorate of Government on 22 October 2026, instructing the UNMC Board Chairperson to interdict Chief Executive Officer Dr Gerald Banaga-Baingi and Chief Corporate and Legal Affairs Officer and Company Secretary Lelia K. Bwambale to allow investigations to proceed.

The Inspectorate also directed the Board Chairperson to set up interim management arrangements to keep the company’s executive and corporate governance functions running.

The sources said the arrangements are intended to maintain operational stability at the state-owned company while the investigations continue.

UNMC has not yet publicly confirmed the acting appointments, their effective dates or the terms of the secondments.

Dr Banaga-Baingi and Bwambale have not been charged, and interdiction is not a finding of wrongdoing