IGG to probe ‘illegal’ Irish contractor on Shs 895 billion Namanve project
The Inspectorate of Government (IG) has launched preliminary inquiries into allegations that an Irish national, Gerry Anthony Cawley, has been illegally overseeing operations at the €215 million (about Shs 895 billion) Kampala Industrial and Business Park (KIBP) project in Namanve.
The investigations stem from a whistleblower petition submitted by Robert Byamugisha to the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Beti Kamya. Byamugisha accuses the Lagan-Dott joint venture, which is implementing the flagship infrastructure project, of flouting Uganda’s immigration and labour laws by allowing Cawley to carry out full-time employment duties without a valid work permit.
Cawley is said to have repeatedly entered Uganda on visitor’s visas over the last seven years, but allegedly engaged in activities such as leading project meetings at Kampala Serena hotel, inspecting works at Namanve, and supervising technical operations, roles typically reserved for individuals with formal work authorisation.
The petition, also copied to Paul Kakamba, the chief joint security officer at the ministry of Internal Affairs, and Johnson Namanya, the commissioner of immigration, claims that Lagan Group has never registered with the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC).
This alleged lack of registration has enabled what the whistleblower terms “visa shopping”, the manipulation of Uganda’s visa system by foreign nationals to circumvent stringent work permit regulations.
Munira Ali, the spokesperson for the Inspectorate, told The Observer that they’re undertaking a preliminary assessment of the petition as per the IG’s standard procedure.
The KIBP project is central to Uganda’s industrialisation vision, aimed at transforming the Namanve corridor into a regional manufacturing and trade hub. However, the project has not been without controversy, with this being the first major allegation involving immigration breaches and regulatory exploitation.
The situation mirrors a recent case involving German NGO, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, whose three employees were deported after entering Uganda on tourist and student visas but working for the organisation.
They were fined $650 each before being expelled from the country. In a wider geopolitical context, the East African nation has become a competitive turf for Western and Eastern interests, as global powers jostle for influence and contracts in Uganda’s fast-evolving infrastructure landscape.
When contacted, Andrew Bemanya, Lagan Group’s Uganda country representative, dismissed the allegations as “unfounded.”
The IGG’s office is now expected to seek clarity from immigration authorities on several key issues: whether Lagan Group holds a valid DCIC registration code, what visa class Cawley used for his visits, and whether repeated project supervision qualifies as employment under Uganda’s immigration law.
Repeated attempts to get comment from DCIC spokesperson Simon Mundeyi were unsuccessful by press time.
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