Kampala, Uganda: The fallout from last week’s shocking assault at embattled dfcu bank has widened, exposing a deepening crisis inside one of Uganda’s largest financial institutions.
Marrann Wanjiku, the Kenyan national and Chief Business Solutions and Marketing Officer who was slapped by a junior staffer, has since retreated to Nairobi, where sources say she is nursing trauma, but now in the aftermath of the bizarre incident, dfcu CEO Charles Mudiwa issued memos to staff across the country urging employees not to resort to violence but instead escalate grievances directly to his office. Yet his appeal has done little to calm tensions, particularly among upcountry workers.
Staff in regional branches accuse management of starving them of operational funds, imposing unrealistic performance targets, and threatening layoffs, while Kampala-based colleagues allegedly enjoy lavish privileges. Their frustration has now reached a boiling point, with talk of a strike if grievances continue to be ignored.
Anger among staff has been stoked further by management’s alleged spending spree. Employees cite Shs 1 billion splashed on sponsoring the “Jazz in Pearl” concert during the bank’s 60th anniversary celebrations, and another Shs 1 billion pledged to Rotary, even as many regional branches reportedly struggle to survive.
While official figures boast of a 151% surge in net profit to Shs 72 billion in 2024, assets worth Shs 4 trillion, and Shs 100 billion in taxes paid, insiders dismiss the performance as a “cosmetic campaign” meant to project external confidence while concealing internal turmoil.
“There is no way you can brag about profits yet internally workers are coerced to work like donkeys under threats that the bank is nosediving,” one insider told DailyExpress.
CEO Recalled to “Plaster, Paint, Sell”
The unrest comes as DFCU’s majority shareholder, Arise BV of the Netherlands, which controls 58% of the bank, is reported to be plotting an exit after growing disillusioned. The fallout traces back to the controversial 2017 takeover of Crane Bank, a deal that has left DFCU entangled in costly lawsuits in Kampala and London.
Losses from the litigation are said to have left the bank financially drained. In response, Arise BV recalled Mudiwa from retirement in Zambia with a blunt directive: “Plaster, Paint, Sell.” His mandate, according to insiders, is to present DFCU as strong and growing in order to attract buyers, while its legal and financial burdens remain hidden.
Industry observers note that Arise BV is redirecting focus toward Equity Bank, where it already holds a 12% stake. Unlike DFCU, Equity is expanding rapidly without multi-billion-shilling legal liabilities, and is now ranked number five in Uganda’s market.
A Bank Under Siege?
When contacted for comment on the assault that rocked the bank, CEO Mudiwa referred this reporter to his Public Relations Officer, Ms Helena Mayanja, who denied any form of violence, insisting the bank’s operations remain “normal.”
For staff, the contradictions are glaring: billions spent on concerts, Rotary pledges, and PR events while branches struggle to cover basic operations. Senior executives urge calm, yet the structural frustrations remain unresolved.
With lawsuits biting, staff unrest growing, and its largest shareholder eyeing the exit, DFCU finds itself in a precarious position, a glittering façade masking a deepening reputational and human-capital crisis.
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