President Yoweri Museveni has moved Pius Bigirimana, the top administrator for the Judiciary, into retirement as part of a sweeping reorganization of Uganda's senior civil service. According to AllAfrica, the changes announced on November 9, 2026, resulted in the retirement of 11 permanent secretaries. Bigirimana, who led the Judiciary's administrative functions since 2019, will be succeeded by Doreen Katusiime. Katusiime is being moved from her previous role in the tourism and wildlife ministry to head the judicial branch's operations.
Bigirimana's departure concludes a public administration career lasting over four decades. AllAfrica reports that he held influential roles within the presidential office, the prime minister's office, and the gender and labour ministry. His most politically significant posting was at the prime minister's office, where he served from late 2008 to mid-2013. During this tenure, the office faced a major financial scandal involving the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan, which included over Shs50 billion in funds intended for post-war recovery in northern Uganda and Karamoja.
The controversy involved irregular transfers of money, including deposits into personal accounts of public officials. Bigirimana, as the accounting officer, faced scrutiny from Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, which questioned his oversight of financial operations. He maintained that he had exposed the improprieties rather than participated in them, a view President Museveni publicly defended in 2014 after examining the Auditor General's report. In 2021, Bigirimana further solidified his position by winning a legal battle against Monitor Publications over reports linking him to the scandal.
The wider reorganization involves not only retirements but also new appointments and redeployments. AllAfrica notes that 13 new permanent secretaries have been appointed, including Emmanuel Freddie Mugunga for the prime minister's office and Barbara Namugambe for the agriculture ministry. Several senior officials have been retained in their current positions, including Lucy Nakyobe, the Head of Public Service, and Ramathan Ggoobi, the permanent secretary at the Finance Ministry. Other officials have been moved to different government institutions as part of the restructuring.