KAMPALA
The Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) has frozen bank accounts belonging to several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as investigations intensify into their sources of funding and operational activities.
FIA executive director, Samuel Were Wandera, confirmed the development, saying the action was taken in coordination with other government agencies that raised concerns over the inflow of what they termed as excessive funding to the organisations.
“We took the decision to temporarily freeze the accounts to allow thorough investigations into the sources of funds and how they are utilised,” Wandera said.
He added that the move is aimed at enabling authorities to establish whether the funds received by the organisations comply with Uganda’s financial regulations and national security frameworks.
Sources indicate that security agencies had earlier tasked the affected organisations to disclose details of their funding, including identities of donors and the specific activities supported by the funds.
Among the organisations affected are Agora Centre for Research, Chapter Four Uganda, African Institute for Investigative Journalism, Centre for Constitutional Governance and Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies, among others.
It is further understood that in some instances, the freeze extended beyond institutional accounts to include personal accounts of some organisation officials.
Security sources claim that the NGOs collectively received over Shs70b in recent years, raising red flags among authorities who are now seeking accountability, particularly for funds originating from foreign sources. The investigations are ongoing.
