Kampala, Uganda: President Museveni has appointed former National Social Security Fund managing director Richard Byarugaba and ex–TradeMark East Africa country director Moses Sabiti as Senior Presidential Advisors on exports and industrial development.
The appointments are contained in a letter dated December 23, 2025, addressed to the Secretary’s Office of the President, and take effect in the 2026/2027 financial year.
In the letter, Museveni said the inclusion of Byarugaba and Sabiti is intended to strengthen the exports secretariat housed in his office and accelerate delivery on Uganda’s trade ambitions.
“This will help the exports secretariat in my office to get better results,” the president wrote. “This will help the team of young people at the secretariat to build a Uganda trade house, raise exports infrastructure funding, organise better trade data and meet the targets I gave to the secretariat.”
Byarugaba, one of Uganda’s most seasoned financial managers, is currently the board chairman of Old Mutual Investment Group, a role he assumed after previously serving as chairperson of the Uganda Securities Exchange.
He brings more than 31 years of experience in finance, banking, asset management and institutional change. During his tenure as managing director of National Social Security Fund, Byarugaba oversaw the transformation of the fund, growing its assets from about $600 million to $4.7 billion.
He also spearheaded the passage of the NSSF Amendment Bill, which expanded pension coverage to more than 10 million Ugandan workers, significantly reshaping the country’s social security landscape.
Byarugaba is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Uganda, and a Level III candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme.
Sabiti, on the other hand, brings deep experience in trade facilitation and regional integration, having previously served as country director for TradeMark East Africa, where he worked on cross-border trade reforms, export competitiveness and infrastructure development.
The two join a growing list of more than 100 presidential advisors appointed by Museveni in recent months, covering a wide range of policy areas, some with highly specialised mandates.
The appointments come as government intensifies its focus on export-led growth, industrialisation and trade infrastructure, key pillars of Museveni’s post-2026 economic strategy.
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