A bitter fallout has erupted among Uganda’s top events promoters following the release of Shs10 billion government fund meant to support players in the entertainment industry.
At the center of the storm is Abitex, president of the Federation of Uganda Events Organizers and Promoters Association (FUPA), who recently confirmed that the government disbursed Shs10 billion, deposited into a SACCO under his leadership, an account over which he holds final signatory authority.
Barely a week after the funds were released, however, Abitex has found himself at loggerheads with fellow promoters Bajjo and Nobat, who have publicly accused him of swindling the money and excluding them from its benefits.
Bajjo and Nobat claim to be speaking on behalf of disgruntled promoters who allege that Abitex monopolized the funds and refused to share them as earlier agreed.
According to Bajjo, the idea of forming SACCOs for promoters originally came from the President, who had grown weary of individual promoters constantly asking him for financial assistance.
“He advised us to organize ourselves,” Bajjo said, explaining that one SACCO was formed with promoters such as Balaam and Luba. Abitex, he added, declined to join that group and instead formed his own SACCO.
Bajjo
Bajjo further claimed that the President directed that the promoters’ funds be split equally between the two SACCOs, Shs5 billion each. While the money has since been released, he alleges that Abitex failed to remit their group’s share.
Nobat escalated the accusations, alleging that Abitex and his associates withdrew the money and failed to support the promoters who were originally intended beneficiaries.
“He brought in people he fronted as promoters, gave them the money, and the rest disappeared,” Nobat claimed, accusing Abitex of side-lining genuine industry players.
Abitex has dismissed the accusations as baseless and driven by greed, insisting that the funds remain intact in the SACCO account and are being handled according to established procedures.
Norbert Twezire, popularly known as Nobat Events
“The allegations against me are not true,” Abitex said. “They are trying to tarnish our names now that the money has been released.”
He maintained that the funds cannot be disbursed arbitrarily and must follow SACCO guidelines.
“We cannot just give out this money. There is a committee responsible for managing it, and there is a process. We have to account to our members,” he added.
