President Yoweri Museveni has been thrown into shock following the revelation that there was a significant leakage of secret documents from the State House that led to the arrest and suspension of some senior officials. The scandal that has rocked the nation exploded after it emerged that sensitive information from the president’s office had found its way to unauthorized people, some of whom are businessmen.

It is an appointment that has been associated with much controversy, after a document circulated on the social media, appointing one Michael Christopher Ayeranga as the Presidential Advisor for Bunyoro Mobilization. Security chiefs investigated and found that Ayeranga had forged his appointment as a strategy to swindle businessmen, promising them access to lucrative government contracts in return for cash, by manipulating his false association with the president’s office.

When the incident came to his attention, President Museveni was briefed discreetly and promptly ordered the arrest of Ayeranga. On October 3, SFC operatives arrested him forthwith and impounded his smartphones for further analysis. The findings were much more disturbing than had been expected. It emerged that several secretaries in State House had been sending highly sensitive documents to Ayeranga and other businessmen via WhatsApp, evidence of a deeper web of security leaks.

Furious over this breach of trust, it is reported that Museveni ordered the detention or suspension of all those involved. “I don’t want to see them here again,” the president reportedly had told the investigators, reflecting the intensity of outrage at the revelations.

A number of State House staff have since been suspended and arrested following the investigation. These include Lt. Vicky Munaaba, a senior aide in charge of typing correspondences in the office of the Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs, Lt. Gen. Proscovia Nalweyiso. Munaaba had earlier been described as a close confidante and has since turned suspect in the leaking of the confidential letter.

Other State House officials investigated included Rose Nalunga and Keba suspected of being part of the information-sharing network. All of the implicated officials now are either in SFC custody or have been placed on suspension pending investigation.

The scandal raised severe questions over the security arrangements in the State House and prompted a broader inquiry into how sensitive information could be so easily accessed and shared. With the arrest of several big names, speculations grew that more might be rounded up in the investigation.

The leak is one of the most serious security breaches in recent memory and has put heavy pressure on Museveni’s administration to tighten its control over access to classified information. As the probe unfolds, stricter measures can be expected to be instituted in ensuring that such a breach never happens again.

For now, those arrested have their futures shrouded in uncertainty; the directive from the president was clear: those who compromised the confidentiality of his office would be brought to book. The fallouts of this scandal are likely to reverberate within the corridors of State House for a good while into the future.