Members of parliament have questioned the alleged irregular rapid rise and multiple responsibilities of Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) director of complaints, investigations and legal services Pauline Nansamba Mutumba.MPs on the committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) scrutinising UHRC’s affairs raised concerns about recruitment, accountability and the handling of human rights complaints.MPs led by Muwada Nkunyingi questioned how Mutumba rose from personal assistant to UHRC chairperson Mariam Wangadya to one of the commission’s senior directors. Mutumba was first headhunted by Wangadya and joined the commission on October 1, 2021, as the chairperson’s personal assistant.She was promoted to principal human resource officer in 2023 before rising to her current position as director of complaints, investigations and legal services.MPs questioned whether the promotions complied with public service regulations and whether there were exceptional circumstances that justified her rapid progression through the commission.The committee heard that Mutumba currently holds several additional responsibilities. Besides her substantive position, she is acting director of monitoring and inspections and chairs the contracts and fleet management committees.The concentration of responsibilities in one officer raised questions about the process through which the assignments were made and whether they received the necessary approval of the commission.In 2025, Mutumba was assigned additional administrative responsibilities following the splitting of some duties previously held by the then accounting officer, Margaret Lucy Ejang.Mutumba told MPs that she received a letter assigning her additional responsibilities in administration, including taking minutes of commission meetings.The committee also scrutinised the practice of depositing commission activity funds into personal bank accounts of staff, including Mutumba and Doreen Nabatte, a personal assistant to the chairperson.COSASE directed the parliamentary police criminal investigations directorate to obtain bank statements for the 2024/25 financial year to establish the nature and movement of funds deposited into the two accounts.Mutumba and Nabatte were also directed to record statements with police regarding the money they received through their personal accounts. The financial inquiry forms part of a broader COSASE investigation into UHRC’s financial management and accountability.Closure of complaintsMPs also questioned Mutumba over the closure of human rights complaints, with commissioner Simeo Muwanga Nsubuga citing the case of Godfrey Kierere from Bundibugyo.Kierere’s complaint was reportedly closed on March 4, 2026, after the commission found that the police officer accused in the case had acted in self-defence.Nsubuga, however, questioned the timing and procedure followed in closing the case, noting that the complainant was reportedly informed about the decision about three months after the last tribunal sitting in December 2025.The matter triggered a heated exchange between MPs, commissioners and UHRC officials over who has authority to close complaints. Mutumba told the committee that she did not have the power to close cases, saying that authority rests with the commission.She said her role was to communicate decisions made by the commission in accordance with her responsibilities, including her role as registrar to the tribunal.Mutumba told MPs that in 2025, the tribunal handled 136 files, of which 35 were awarded and 101 dismissed. She added that another 411 files were closed during the same year.In 2026, she said, a further 428 files had been closed, although commissioners told the committee that they had not collectively taken a position on all the closures.Commissioner Jacklet Atuhaire said some complainants had protested that their cases were closed without their knowledge. She cited cases in which complainants had been asked to return with witnesses at subsequent tribunal sessions, only to later discover that their complaints had been closed.Commissioners maintained that cases before the tribunal should be considered and determined through the prescribed process, with complaints either awarded, dismissed or adjourned.The committee also questioned Mutumba over allegations that she travelled in business class despite her position, as well as procurement procedures and the use of commission resources.The post MPs question UHRC director Nansamba over holding multiple roles appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.