New UWA executive director Mwandha takes office

PIC: New UWA executive director Sam Mwandha (right) being welcomed at Lake Mburo recently. (Credit: Gerald Tenywa)

UGANDA WILDLIFE AUTHORITY

KAMPALA - Sam Mwandha has officially taken office as the new executive director of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), succeeding Dr. Andrew Seguya.

The handover ceremony was held at UWA head offices along Kayunga Road in Kampala on Monday.

Members of the board of trustees of UWA were present.

The shift of power at the helm marked the first time since the inception of UWA that an excutive director hands over to a successor without being sacked or resigning.

UWA was created in 1996 to oversee wildlife management in the country after the merger of the Game Department and Uganda National Parks.

In the run-up to the latest handover function, tourism minister Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu said the Authority "has to continue executing serious business – managing wildlife in Uganda’s game parks and outside the protected areas".


Mwandha's message when he was appointed new UWA boss:

A long-time career conservationist, Mwandha is now the eighth executive director of UWA. He emerged the top candidate in the final interview conducted by the Public Service Commission.

Among those he beat was his eventual predecessor Seguya, who came in third.

Achilles Byaruhanga, the executive director of Nature Uganda, had also expressed interest in the top job and finished second-best.

Kamuntu appointed Mwandha as the new executive director of UWA last month, but he asked for more time to clear and hand over office at the Africa Wildlife Foundation, where he had been serving as the chief of party.

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