Disan Governor @Disangovernor - Twitter Profile

7 days ago

ORGANIZATIONS RISE AND FALL ON LEADERSHIP By Justus Mugisha - 1st Vice President, FUFA, President USSSA. Written aboard Uganda Airlines Flight UR 320, Dar es Salaam to Entebbe, Tonight. I am writing this at 35,000 feet, aboard our own Uganda Airlines, on my way back from Dar es Salaam to Entebbe tonight. The cabin crew is professional, the flight is smooth, and outside my window is the very flag we fought to put back in the sky in 2019. It is the perfect place to reflect on leadership. A few months ago, this same airline was defined not by its smooth flights, but by grounded aircraft. At one point, nearly 60% of its fleet capacity was unavailable - forcing the airline into expensive wet-leases just to keep the schedule alive. An aircraft on the ground does not earn; it bleeds. We all saw the story: persistent financial losses, governance queries, procurement and staffing concerns. Aircraft don't fly themselves. Strategy without leadership is just expensive metal on the tarmac. That is why I fully support the changes at Uganda Airlines. On February 13, 2026, President Museveni intervened and directed that former CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki step aside, citing "current leadership and management weaknesses" and appointed Ethiopian aviation veteran Ato Girma Wake as Acting CEO and Consultant/Advisor until July 2026. Some asked: Why a foreigner to lead our national carrier? As 1st VP of FUFA, I smiled. Because in football, we have faced the same accusation for years. We have always turned to foreign coaches for the Uganda Cranes for the exact same reason. And we have been blamed for it. We have been told we do not trust Ugandan coaches. But we were never looking for a passport. We were looking for transformation. You do not have to be a citizen to be a transformational leader. Look at who we now have at Uganda Airlines. Girma Wake joined Ethiopian Airlines in 1965 and as CEO from 2004-2011 transformed it into Africa's most profitable and globally competitive carrier. He did it through discipline, modernization, and corporate governance. He is, as many have said, one of Africa's finest aviation minds. Five months in, experts say he is quietly rebuilding the airline from the inside out - not talking about new aircraft in 2032, but fixing today's reliability, stopping leakage, and restoring commercial discipline. That is exactly what a great foreign coach does. He brings a system, a standard, and the authority to make the difficult decisions that need to be made. As aviation expert Dr. Arnold Agaba noted, "An airline is capital-intensive, and it is very sensitive to leadership problems." So is a national team. So is any organization that carries a nation's pride. Sitting here tonight on a Uganda Airlines flight that left on time and is operating efficiently, I feel vindicated. The Uganda Airlines case vindicates us in football. It proves that true patriotism is not about who holds the office, but whether the office finally delivers for Uganda. Organizations indeed rise and fall on leadership. Tonight, at 35,000 feet, I can feel ours rising again. @UG_Airlines @GovUganda @GCICUganda @UgandaMediaCent

MugishaJustus16's tweet photo. ORGANIZATIONS RISE AND FALL ON LEADERSHIP

By Justus Mugisha - 1st Vice President, FUFA, President USSSA.

Written aboard Uganda Airlines Flight UR 320, Dar es Salaam to Entebbe, Tonight.

I am writing this at 35,000 feet, aboard our own Uganda Airlines, on my way back from Dar es Salaam to Entebbe tonight. The cabin crew is professional, the flight is smooth, and outside my window is the very flag we fought to put back in the sky in 2019.

It is the perfect place to reflect on leadership.

A few months ago, this same airline was defined not by its smooth flights, but by grounded aircraft. At one point, nearly 60% of its fleet capacity was unavailable - forcing the airline into expensive wet-leases just to keep the schedule alive. An aircraft on the ground does not earn; it bleeds.

We all saw the story: persistent financial losses, governance queries, procurement and staffing concerns. Aircraft don't fly themselves. Strategy without leadership is just expensive metal on the tarmac.

That is why I fully support the changes at Uganda Airlines.

On February 13, 2026, President Museveni intervened and directed that former CEO Jenifer Bamuturaki step aside, citing "current leadership and management weaknesses" and appointed Ethiopian aviation veteran Ato Girma Wake as Acting CEO and Consultant/Advisor until July 2026.

Some asked: Why a foreigner to lead our national carrier?

As 1st VP of FUFA, I smiled. Because in football, we have faced the same accusation for years.

We have always turned to foreign coaches for the Uganda Cranes for the exact same reason. And we have been blamed for it. We have been told we do not trust Ugandan coaches. But we were never looking for a passport. We were looking for transformation.

You do not have to be a citizen to be a transformational leader.

Look at who we now have at Uganda Airlines. Girma Wake joined Ethiopian Airlines in 1965 and as CEO from 2004-2011 transformed it into Africa's most profitable and globally competitive carrier. He did it through discipline, modernization, and corporate governance. He is, as many have said, one of Africa's finest aviation minds.

Five months in, experts say he is quietly rebuilding the airline from the inside out - not talking about new aircraft in 2032, but fixing today's reliability, stopping leakage, and restoring commercial discipline.

That is exactly what a great foreign coach does. He brings a system, a standard, and the authority to make the difficult decisions that need to be made.

As aviation expert Dr. Arnold Agaba noted, "An airline is capital-intensive, and it is very sensitive to leadership problems." So is a national team. So is any organization that carries a nation's pride.

Sitting here tonight on a Uganda Airlines flight that left on time and is operating efficiently, I feel vindicated.

The Uganda Airlines case vindicates us in football. It proves that true patriotism is not about who holds the office, but whether the office finally delivers for Uganda.

Organizations indeed rise and fall on leadership. Tonight, at 35,000 feet, I can feel ours rising again.

@UG_Airlines @GovUganda @GCICUganda @UgandaMediaCent

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