Long before President Yoweri Museveni fired off a sharply worded directive ordering investigations into the alleged extortion of tea nursery operators, Patrick Kiconco Katabaazi had already become a familiar figure in one of Uganda’s most controversial compensation disputes.

Now serving as Rukiga County MP, Katabaazi once again finds himself under intense scrutiny after Museveni directly named his law firm, Pathways Advocates, in a 22nd February 2026, letter to then Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka over disputed deductions from money meant for tea nursery growers.

The President left little room for ambiguity.

“I am writing to direct you to stop crooks operating under a lawyers’ firm known as Pathways Advocates involving one Kyichooncho Patrick Katabazi that is extorting money from the tea nursery growers,” Museveni wrote.

The letter reflected growing concern within government over how compensation intended for farmers allegedly attracted deductions running as high as 30 percent.

“Who is he to extort money from our people?” Museveni asked.

“What did he do to deserve this money? It is the Government that gave the money to our people.”

The President further questioned whether officials within government were facilitating the transactions.

“Who are the collaborators of the extortioners in the Government?”

He concluded with a firm directive: “Stop this theft.”

For many observers, however, the President’s intervention did not emerge from nowhere.

The controversy surrounding Katabaazi and Pathways Advocates had already exploded into public view nearly three years earlier when Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) launched investigations into Shs39 billion advanced by the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) to compensate tea nursery operators.

According to Auditor General queries scrutinised by COSASE, NAADS transferred Shs39 billion to Pathways Advocates in two instalments — Shs27 billion and Shs12 billion — to settle claims arising from a long-running dispute between the Government and tea nursery operators from western Uganda.

The roots of that dispute stretch back to 2019 when 734 tea nursery operators from Kabale, Kisoro, Rubanda, Kanungu, Rukungiri, Rukiga, Ntungamo, Mbarara, and Mitooma sued the Government and NAADS over unpaid tea seedlings.

A consent judgment reached in January 2021 reportedly fixed the settlement at Shs42.6 billion, although balances and court interest later pushed the Government’s obligations to approximately Shs52 billion, according to petitioners.

It was during the implementation of these payments that Katabaazi’s law firm became central to the controversy.

A petition dated May 6, 2026, and submitted to the Deputy Attorney General by Wycliff Byarugaba identifies Pathways Advocates as the recipient of the Shs27 billion first tranche and names Katabaazi as proprietor of the firm.

The petition accuses representatives and lawyers of making deductions beyond what farmers had allegedly authorised.

“Without any meeting or any agreement with the nursery bed operators,” the petition claims, farmers were allegedly charged “30% or more” of the money intended for them.

Complainants claim they had agreed to pay only 10 percent in legal and representative fees but later discovered deductions allegedly amounting to Shs8.1 billion from the initial Shs27 billion release — approximately Shs5.4 billion beyond what they considered legitimate.

The second tranche generated even deeper suspicion.

According to the petition, once Shs12 billion was released in November 2022, some farmers allegedly saw money deposited into their accounts only for large portions to be immediately transferred back to Pathways Advocates.

“This time round,” the petition alleges, “whichever money went into their accounts, 70% or more would be fraudulently debited back to the Pathways Advocates account.”

Petitioners estimate that less than Shs5 billion reached farmers from the Shs12 billion release, while nearly Shs7 billion was allegedly redirected. Combined with earlier deductions, they estimate disputed sums nearing Shs20 billion.

Those allegations mirror concerns raised before COSASE in 2023.

Parliament heard testimony from farmers who claimed they had not received their full compensation despite official records suggesting payment had been made. Some bank statements reportedly showed substantial transfers back to Pathways Advocates immediately after funds entered beneficiaries’ accounts.

Lawmakers became increasingly frustrated when Katabaazi resisted producing certain records.

He argued that beneficiary information and payment records fell under advocate-client privilege and insisted his clients had no complaints.

“The plaintiffs and the beneficiaries they represent have received money and are appreciative of our services and support,” Katabaazi told COSASE at the time.

But MPs remained unconvinced.

COSASE Vice Chairperson Lucy Akello ordered Katabaazi and witnesses to record statements with parliamentary police after lawmakers said his submissions contradicted complaints from farmers and documents before the committee.

Parliament’s concern centred not merely on legal fees but on accountability itself.

NAADS Executive Director Samuel Mugasi reportedly informed MPs that the agency possessed a full list of beneficiaries and payment details linked to Pathways Advocates, contradicting suggestions that such information could not be produced.

The 2026 petition now claims that COSASE had earlier recommended investigations and prosecution of Katabaazi, as well as the recovery of money allegedly deducted from farmers, but that no meaningful action followed.

It further alleges that new court claims later emerged seeking additional compensation under “economic loss” awards running into tens of billions of shillings, including disputed demands of Shs61 billion and later Shs75 billion against the Government.

“This is broad daylight robbery and outright theft and fraud,” the petition states while challenging the court awards and payment claims.

Katabaazi has consistently denied wrongdoing.

Yet the President’s latest intervention suggests that questions which surfaced in Parliament in 2023 may be far from settled.

What began as a compensation case for tea nursery operators has now evolved into a politically charged accountability battle, one in which the name Patrick Kiconco Katabaazi continues to appear at every critical stage, from courtroom settlements and parliamentary probes to police investigations and now the desk of the President himself.