Leadership row deepens as URSB halts Igara Growers Tea Factory AGM
BUSHENYI, June 22, 2026 — A deepening governance and leadership dispute at Igara Growers Tea Factory Limited [IGTF] in Kyamuhunga, Bushenyi district, has plunged the region’s tea sector into fresh uncertainty after the Uganda Registration Services Bureau [URSB] halted the company’s 28th Annual General Meeting [AGM], which had been scheduled for Wednesday this week.
The administrative directive comes only days after a High Court ruling appeared to clear the way for the meeting to proceed by dismissing a challenge brought by shareholders and awarding costs to the factory’s embattled Board of Directors.
Court directs parties to statutory process
In his ruling, Justice Amos Kwizera held that the petitioners had approached the court prematurely without first exhausting the dispute-resolution mechanisms provided under company law.
The judge ruled that grievances relating to corporate governance and company administration should first be handled by the Registrar of Companies before being escalated to court.
Following the court, IGTF Company Secretary Kenneth Mutabaruka rushed to issue a public notice in the media inviting shareholders to attend the AGM on June 24.
The meeting had been expected to consider long-overdue audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, alongside other operational and governance matters.
URSB steps in suspends AGM, questions legitimacy of board
However, an administrative directive dated June 15, 2026, URSB ordered the company not to proceed with the AGM after receiving a petition from a group of stakeholders challenging the legitimacy of the current board.
“The legitimacy of the Board is currently under consideration by this office. A hearing is scheduled for 1 July 2026,” URSB stated.
“In view of the pending proceedings, this office advises the company to refrain from proceeding with the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 24 June 2026 until the conclusion of the hearing and determination of the complaint.”
URSB said preserving the status quo was necessary to protect the integrity of the ongoing proceedings.
“Maintaining the status quo pending the outcome of the hearing will promote procedural fairness, safeguard the integrity of the ongoing proceedings, and ensure that any eventual decision of this office is not rendered ineffective or overtaken by events,” the bureau added.
Shareholders divided over suspension
URSB’s latest intervention has exposed divisions among shareholders.
Abraham Muganzi welcomed the suspension of the AGM, arguing that allowing a board whose legitimacy is under challenge to convene the company’s highest decision-making body would undermine fairness.
“How can a board, which is in office illegally to hold an AGM? Suspending the meeting until the main petition is resolved on July 1 is the only fair way forward,” he said.
Others warned that continued disputes risk worsening operational disruptions and reducing farmer incomes.
Shareholder Savio Tumuramye said many growers had expected the AGM to proceed following the High Court decision, stating that URSB’s intervention has worsened the financial situation for the farmers.
“As tea farmers, we have suffered enough. My only wish is to see Igara Tea Factory fully operational so that shareholders can sell their green leaf, which is currently stuck in the fields and losing value,” he said.
Audit exercise linked to proposed Shs152 billion bailout
The dispute comes as government prepares a broader financial intervention aimed at reviving Uganda’s struggling tea industry.
In a separate communication dated May 29, 2026, the Auditor General directed the IGTF board to prepare for a special verification audit.
The Office of the Auditor General is conducting audits across 22 tea companies under the Uganda Tea Association following a directive issued by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development on April 17.
The exercise forms part of preparations for a proposed Shs 152 billion presidential bailout package intended to support recovery in the sector.
According to the directive, the audit will verify liabilities, assess governance systems and identify operational weaknesses across participating companies.
However, implementation at IGTF may face complications. Under Sections 163–166 of the Companies Act, auditors are appointed by shareholders, meaning the factory must submit a formal board resolution authorising the process, a requirement made more difficult by the unresolved leadership dispute.
Background
Established in 1969, Igara Growers Tea Factory Limited is one of south-western Uganda’s major agricultural enterprises and supports thousands of smallholder tea farmers across Bushenyi, Buhweju and Sheema districts.
The factory emerged from government-led efforts in the 1960s to reduce rural poverty through commercial agriculture.
The Uganda Tea Growers Corporation [UTGC], created through an Act of Parliament in 1966, later developed Igara as one of four smallholder tea factories established to process green leaf produced across the wider Bushenyi area.
Operations declined during the political instability of the 1970s, which disrupted production, left plantations neglected and contributed to shortages of agricultural inputs.
A European Union-funded rehabilitation programme launched in 1989 helped revive tea production and restore factory operations.
Under government divestiture reforms, Igara and other factories [Mabale, Mpanga and Kayonza] were privatised and transferred to smallholder farmers between 1995 and 2000, culminating in full farmer ownership by 2000.
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