It could have been so beautiful...
Updated in February 2025
Suspension of the project before construction began
Suspicion of corruption in connection with the IMLS music school in Uganda
Since the allegations came to light in January 2025, the Werner Erkes Foundation (WES) has suspended its involvement.
A criminal complaint has been filed with the Regensburg public prosecutor's office (Ref. 205 Js 9876/25).
The Förderverein für Musik und Kultur Uganda e. V. (FMK) has refused to cooperate.
The Werner Erkes Foundation is committed to the principles of honesty, transparency and trust. According to the information available to the Foundation, these principles were significantly violated in the course of the activities of the non-governmental organisation IMLS and in connection with its transition to the Werner Erkes Foundation East Africa (WEF) in 2024.
An internal audit of project-related documents revealed substantial grounds for suspicion, indicating the existence of structural irregularities over a longer period of time. For legal reasons, no public statement is currently being made on individual aspects of the suspicion that have not been conclusively clarified.
However, the following facts have been proven and documented: Donations collected by the FMK were transferred – even after the findings were disclosed in January 2025 – to accounts of the NGOs IMLS and WEF in Masaka (Uganda) and from there to an account of IMLS Limited by Shares. This company is a private enterprise whose owner is also the founder of the projects designated as non-profit. This company operates the IMLS music school in Masaka, which was built on land privately owned by the aforementioned owner.
Based on current information, there is reasonable suspicion that tax-deductible donations from Regensburg and the rest of Germany were transferred to private assets. In addition, a provision was added to the statutes of the former NGO IMLS in 2018, stipulating that in the event of its dissolution, all assets would fall to the property owner.
Against this background, a criminal complaint was filed with the Regensburg Public Prosecutor's Office.
As a strategic partner and sponsor of the Werner Erkes Foundation East Africa and the NGO IMLS, the Werner Erkes Foundation feels obliged to disclose the facts uncovered to other sponsors, partners and supporters. The board members of the Förderverein für Musik und Kultur Uganda e. V. (Friends of Music and Culture in Uganda) were personally informed of the suspicions in a video conference. Further cooperation on joint clarification was rejected by the FMK in February 2025; further communication was subsequently discontinued.
The clarification process continues to be difficult, as the project managers in Masaka (Uganda) have so far denied us, as directors of the WEF, access to essential documents. Even a personal meeting during a visit to the music school in June 2025 did not result in the requested documents being handed over.
Similarly, the Managing Director of WEF East Africa, who was immediately relieved of his duties by WES in January 2025, has not yet handed over the relevant documents, despite existing contractual obligations. There is currently no indication of active cooperation in the investigation.
In the foundation's assessment, there is considerable reluctance to cooperate in the investigation of the facts in both Regensburg and Masaka.
This publication is intended to send a clear signal against corruption as a central obstacle to sustainable development cooperation. At the same time, the Werner Erkes Foundation expressly distances itself from the events described and is committed to protecting its reputation and that of the Werner Erkes Foundation East Africa.
The Foundation will provide information on significant developments in the course of the investigation in due course.
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