Watoto Church Loses Shs594m Tax Case as Scrutiny Over Leadership and Governance Deepens

By Hannah Marion Namukasa

Watoto Child Care Ministries (WCCM), a U.S.-registered charity closely affiliated with Watoto Church in Uganda, is facing growing scrutiny over its governance structure following revelations of overlapping leadership roles between its U.S. and Ugandan entities.

Public records indicate a concentration of decision-making authority among founders, family members, and senior staff, with several individuals simultaneously serving as board members, officers, and paid employees across the two entities. Governance experts say such arrangements raise concerns about independence, oversight, and potential conflicts of interest.

Information obtained from Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 filings and U.S. state charity records shows that Garry Skinner, the founder of Watoto Church, is listed as a U.S. board member and an “interested person” in significant fund transfers from the U.S. entity to Uganda. This is despite public announcements made years ago that Skinner had stepped down from day-to-day leadership of the Ugandan church.

WCCM filings also list Skinner’s son, James Skinner, as a director, alongside Eugene Stutzman, who serves both as a board member and as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Other paid employees who appear in governance or key oversight roles include Valerie King (Chief Finance Officer), Brent Smith (Director of Development and Fundraising), and Julius Rwotlonyo, the head of Watoto in Uganda, who is also listed as an interested person in transfers to the Ugandan entity.

Rwotlonyo’s dual role highlights the overlap between the U.S. and Ugandan leadership structures. Filings further indicate that Brent Smith, a senior fundraiser and one of the organization’s highest-paid employees, earns more than the Chief Executive Officer—an arrangement governance experts describe as unusual for large U.S. public charities.

Smith is also listed as a voting board member, meaning he participates in governance decisions while simultaneously serving as a senior paid fundraiser. Experts say this structure is atypical and raises questions about board independence and oversight.

Other members of the WCCM U.S. board include Tom Hanover, Allan Leary, and Garry Scherer. Public filings indicate that a significant portion of voting directors are insiders or paid executives, reducing the proportion of independent board oversight.

Watoto Child Care Ministries, a close affiliate of Watoto Church Uganda, operates village-based communities that include schools, churches, medical centers, and homes for orphans and widows. U.S. tax filings show that the American arm raises millions of dollars annually and transfers most of the funds to its affiliated Ugandan organization, which is led by overlapping insiders.

According to filings, WCCM reported total U.S. revenue of $7,574,158 in 2024, derived from grants, domestic and foreign donations, member contributions, and other payments. The organization lists 13 individuals as board members, many of whom also serve as officers, key employees, or highest-compensated staff.

Among those listed are Rwotlonyo, who serves as president of the Ugandan organization but also sits on the U.S. board, reportedly contributing two hours per week; Garry Skinner, listed as a board member working two hours weekly; and James Skinner, also a director with similar reported hours.

However, some filings suggest that certain officials may be working up to 40 hours per week. Legal analysts note that such arrangements could raise questions regarding compliance with U.S. visitor visa restrictions. Observers have also questioned whether remote work arrangements strengthen arguments that the U.S. entity is effectively governed from Uganda.

In 2023, Garry Skinner and his wife Marilyn, founders of Watoto Church (formerly Kampala Pentecostal Church), formally handed over leadership to Julius Rwotlonyo and his wife Vernita after four decades at the helm.

Additional board members listed in U.S. filings include Scott Young (Vice President), Ben Wendland (Secretary), Philip Wagner, Corey Wall, Sharon Kelly, Roland Mitchell, Treasa Conrad, and Eugene Stutzman.

An investigation into the governance structure indicates that several board members are also employees of the same organization and participate in decisions involving compensation and finances. Experts say this may undermine the intent of U.S. nonprofit governance rules designed to prevent conflicts of interest and excess benefit transactions.

Sources familiar with the matter say that despite retiring from leadership in Uganda, Garry Skinner remains a U.S. board member and an interested person in wire transfers from the U.S. to Uganda.

During Watoto’s September 2025 tour in Washington State, a local advocacy group, Seattle Gay News, contacted the Washington State charities regulator and was informed that WCCM was not registered to solicit charitable contributions in the state at the time.

Governance specialists note that because the U.S. arm raises the majority of Watoto’s global funding, strong oversight of the American entity is critical, particularly where large sums are transferred to affiliated foreign organizations. U.S. charity regulators often examine such structures to ensure independence, transparency, and accountability.

The governance concerns emerge months after Uganda’s Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) dismissed, with costs, an application by Watoto Child Care Ministries challenging a Shs594 million tax assessment on imported services.

In a unanimous decision, the tribunal held that payments to service providers constituted income of Watoto Child Care Ministries, even when donors or partner offices paid the providers directly. The tribunal ruled that the payments directly benefited Watoto and were made at its direction, thereby qualifying as income sourced in Uganda.

In its November 28, 2025 ruling, the tribunal further held that the non-resident service providers derived income under Ugandan-source service contracts and that Watoto Child Care Ministries had correctly withheld and remitted withholding tax to the Uganda Revenue Authority.