Uganda’s emerging scandals: Is it time for govt to walk the talk on total fight against corruption?

Op-Ed:  Corruption, graft and financial related scandals or sagas involving the loss, embezzlement and theft of huge sums of public resources by high profile political leaders, public servants and businessmen have continued to dominate different mass and social media in Uganda.

This in effect is causing a lot of public outcries, tainted the political and public image of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government, plummeted the political support from the public domain, caused the main beneficiaries of these resources to live in abject poverty and develop hatred for the ruling government, led to the weakening of the national economy as a lot of money is in the hands of very few powerful individuals also led to the devaluation of Ugandan shilling.

On the other hand, where these scandals/sagas are politicized, the local populations may turn chaotic and disruptive in nature by venting their anger and discontent towards the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) government through civil strifes, political demonstrations/unrests, escalation in crime rates leading to instability and insecurity within the country especially in areas where these resources/funds are disproportionately and inequitably distributed among the beneficiaries by the government’s national treasury or where some high profile persons have abused their offices by diverting the resources meant for the local population for their personal gains, or where these leaders have exhibited greediness, lack the spirit of patriotism and possess the mentality of leading wealthy/ostentatious/lavish lifestyles that are by far beyond their means or incomes at the expense of the public/the Wanainchi.

The government of Uganda has already handled and concluded some of these high profile corruption, graft and financial related scandals since the time  the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government took over power in 1986 to date through the concerted efforts of all security agencies and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution(DPP),the Office of the Inspectorate of Government (IGG).

In order to completely remedy and mitigate the escalating and emerging corruption related crimes/offenses involving huge financial losses of the tax payers,public funds and resources the government should extend its political will/support, provide adequate resources and funding, modern equipment/facilities, capacitate and re-skill investigators(from all its security and related agencies-Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP),the Chieftain of Military Intelligence (CMI), Internal Securirty Organisation(ISO), the Inspectorate of Government (IGG), the Anti-corruption Unit( ACU), Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID), the External Security Organisation(ESO), the Uganda Immigration Department, the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF), the Uganda Police Force (UPF) and the Judiciary department in modern and up-to-date skills and training; invite experts from developed first world countries to assist, train and back up our local teams and help to stem and detect complex and intricate corruption related crimes/offences committed by high profile government public servants, individuals and political leaders.

It should be noted that these scandals/sagas are ever emerging now and then, involving high profile and powerful individuals, networks and syndicates of public servants, political leaders, heads of parastatals, the private and the public sectors.

The war or the fight against corruption in Uganda is still very enormous requiring a sophisticated multidisciplinary approach by all stakeholders because the means that the culprits are employing in this dotcom computerized era are also sophisticated, interconnected by powerful syndicates within the state machinery and they are complex in nature.

As I write, new scandals/sagas causing the government huge losses of public resources in billions (if not in trillions cumulatively over the years)of Uganda shillings are still emergent and calls for more urgent proactive, biting legislations and laws on corruption,  stringent, concerted, multidisciplinary approach and robust punitive measures by the government to all those who are involved in these vices for example, the government of Uganda can borrow a leaf from countries like China where any person found   guilty of theft of huge public funds, gross abuse of their offices, being corrupt etc they are punished by the state using extrajudicial means or get killed by firing squads under the public watch.

The national budget of Uganda like for other developing countries are donor dependent with over 60% of the budget dependent on the funding from external multilateral and bilateral sources(borrowing, short and long term loans, grants) and about 40% of the budget funds from internal sources such as revenues generated from taxes, exports, investors, tourism, rent and other sources.

In the past some international donors have even turned off their bilateral/multilateral funding programmes to Uganda due to the existence of high rates corruption related offenses that involved top government and the private sector officials that has led to huge financial losses over the years estimated in trillions of Uganda shillings!

Uganda like other third world countries is categorized as a Highly Indebted Country (HIC) by the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as result of over-borrowing from different International sources.

According to the World data website, 2021, Uganda’s current gross external debt stands at US$ 21 billion, Uganda’s National budget for the FY 2022/2023 was Ug sh 48.1 Trillion up by sh1.8 Trillion compared to the National budget approved for FY 2021/2022.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) 2023 January Uganda’s current population stands at 47,900,000 people, and the population of Kampala city currently stands at 3,846,000 people and increase of 5.3% from 2022.

The country is yet to fully recover from the devastating effects of Covid-19 pandemic virus disease on the national and political economy, development, different sectors(both public and private sectors) and institutions, parastatals, organizations and individuals.

Its against this background that its very inhumane, devilish, satanic, obnoxious, ungodly and awkward behavior for high profile political leaders and individuals to indulge themselves in corrupt tendencies by causing huge financial losses to the government when they steal public resources and funds meant for the provision of services for the Citizens of Uganda/the Wanainchi.

Uganda like other countries in Africa are also grappling with the effects of climate change, prolonged droughts, shortages in the rainfall regimes, unpredictable weather changes, food insecurity, high unemployment rates, poverty, high crime rates, disease outbreaks, lack of adequate funding, inadequate infrastructure to mention but a few.

According to the Online Cambridge Dictionary 2023 it defines a scandal an action or event that causes a public feeling of  shock and strong moral disapproval, for example financial, political, graft related scandals, meanwhile according to the Online Oxford Languages, it defines a Saga as a long, involved story, account, or series of incidents.

In the mass and social media, it should be observed that the words Scandal and Saga have sometimes been used anonymously or interchangeably.

His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the president of the Republic of Uganda has always been at the fore front of advocating for zero tolerance to corruption within his government in particular and the country at large, and we are opportunistic that all the recent high profile political and the private sector involved in the vice of corruption, that president is going to crack the iron whip to severely punish the culprits regardless of their statuses within the government and the society.

This will be exemplary to others who intend to commit the same vices in future. For those culprits whom the government is investigating, we hope that justice will prevail, and for those already prosecuted and sentenced to serve their jail terms, we hope that the punishments are stringent enough to deter the re-occurrences of such vices in future, and for those who are not yet apprehended and prosecuted, they are still deemed innocent until proven guilty with evidence to be adduced against them.

As I write, we are yet to witness more serious scandals or sagas  all of them causing huge financial losses of public resources and funds and in effect denying the Wanainchi to benefit from the state service delivery functions provided the government.

Can you imagine some bonafide Ugandans are living  as destitutes and in abject poverty in their own country because of the domino/multiple effects caused by corruption related offenses committed by some powerful, connected political leaders and high profile individuals working with government ministries/parastatals /private or public sectors?

All culprits involved in corruption leading to huge losses of public resources should be severely punished by the government if found guilty by the courts of law .Jail terms are not panaceas to address corruption in Uganda.

A Chronological account of corruption related scandals/sagas that have recently and previously appeared in the social and mass media (both at local ,regional and international levels) and have caused the government of Uganda to lose huge amounts of public resources/funds cumulatively estimated in Trillions Uganda shillings and these were committed by political leaders, ministers and high profile individuals holding public offices, namely:

The Iron sheets distribution scandal

This scandal involved political leaders and government ministers who corruptly decided to distribute and share amongst themselves Iron sheets destined for Karamoja sub region.

This matter is still under investigation by the State security agencies with the possibility of prosecuting the culprits if found culpable.

According to early reports in the media, these political leaders/ministers were named as Honourable Mary Gorreti Kitutu the Minister for Karamoja Affairs were it is alleged that she received 3000 iron sheets, Honourable Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga Minister of the East African Region allegedly received 500 iron sheets, Honourable Amos Lugolobi the Minister of State for Finance Planning and Economic development and also Member of Parliament for Ntenjeru North Kayunga District allegedly received 300 iron sheets, Honourable Bwino Kyakulaga the State Minister for Agriculture and also a Member of Parliament for Kigulu County North   allegedly 300 iron sheets, Honourable Matia Kasaija the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic development and also a Member of Parliament for Buyaga County Kibaale District allegedly received 300 iron sheet, Honourable Moriku Kaducu allegedly received 200 iron sheets, Honourable Jacob Oboth Oboth the State minister of Security allegedly received 300 iron sheets, Honourable Rukia Nakadama allegedly received 300 iron sheets and Honourable Obua Hamson Denis the Government Chief whip and also Member of Parliament for Ajuri County Alebtong district allegedly received 300 iron sheets totalling to 5,500 iron sheets that were corruptly diverted for personal use by these political leaders and government ministers.

The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has suspended the distribution of iron sheets across the country after theft and abuse in the process of distribution were detected, leading to the arrest of close relatives of the Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Honourable Mary Gorreti Kitutu.

By the time of suspension, 84,697 of the 173,665 iron sheets procured had been distributed, leaving a balance of more than 88,000 iron sheets.

According to the office of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) the distribution shall resume as soon as the investigating agencies have concluded their work.

A supplementary budget worth millions of Uganda shillings was passed by the Parliament of Uganda during FY2021/2022 was used by the of the Prime Minister (OPM) to procure 173,665 iron sheets for Karamoja, Teso,Northern Uganda, Luweero Triangle, Bunyoro and the Department of Disaster Preparedness and Management.These items were mean’t to support livelihoods of the vulnerable and social infrastructure in disadvantaged communities.

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Shs6 billion saga

This scandal involved the Minister of Gender and Social development Honourable Betty Amongi and the top management of the National Social Security Fund(NSSF) especially the former NSSF Managing Director Richard Byarugaba were the former accused the later of mismanaging the Fund by illegally lending out over Sh 6 billions  of the fund without her consent.

The NSSF Managing Director Richard Byarugaba was later dropped from his position as the Managing Director of the Fund and his request to be re-appointed was rejected by the appointing authority.

It yet to be seen whether the long arm of the law will catch up with the culprits in this saga so that they can be prosecuted, if found guilty and culpable for the corruption offences they have committed, they have to be convicted and sent to jail to serve their terms.

OPM Covid-19 Cash mismanagement scandal 2020

In 2019 Uganda like other countries worldwide was devastated by the spread and effects of the Covid pandemic virus disease with a number of fatalities and infections registered across the country.

The international community, wealthy Ugandans and organizations extended to us the support to fight the Covid-19 pandemic by provision of funds, equipment, facilities, motor vehicles, medical supplies, masks, sanitizers, expatriates.

The Ministry of Health was primarily responsible for co-ordinating and overseeing all Covid-19 mitigation and prevention measures.

The Covid-19 cash scandal in the Office of the Prime Minister(OPM) involved the mismanagement and misappropriation of funds intended to support the country’s Covid-19 response efforts.

The scandal came to light in June 2020, when the Auditor General’s (AG) report revealed irregularities in the utilization of funds meant for Covid-19 activities, including the procurement of food relief and personal protective equipments (PPEs) for healthcare workers.

The AG’s report indicated that the funds meant for the Covid-19 response were misappropriated, with some of the funds diverted to personal accounts and fraudulent activities.

Several high-ranking officials, including then Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), were arrested and charged with various offences related to the scandal.

The government also set up a special taskforce to investigate the matter and recover any misappropriated funds. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), later on withdrew the charges and set the officials free without any explanation.

OPM Refugee Cash scandal 2018

The scandal came to light in February 2018, when it was reported that up to Shs795billions ($214m) meant to support refugees had been misappropriated by officials in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

The scandal involved allegations that officials in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) had inflated the number of refugees in the country to secure more funding from the international community.

It was also alleged that some officials had embezzled funds meant for the refugees, including food and relief items.

The United Nations agency mandated to handle refugees UNHCR also carried out a parallel investigation into the scandal as a result of this several officials were later arrested and charged with various offenses related to the scandal.

UPF manpower saga – 2018

The scandal came to light in 2018 after the Uganda Police Force conducted manpower audit of its manpower strength only to discovered that there were more than 8,000 ghost police officers existing on its normal roll.

The Uganda Police Force later carried out investigations in a view of establishing how the ‘Ghost cops’ came to exist on its nominal roll and to apprehend the culprits within the Force responsible for this mess.

They also wanted to establish the personnel who have been receiving salaries on behave of the ‘Ghost cops’.

LC1 Shs4.2 billion bicycle procurement scandal 2014

This scandal came to light in 2014 when the former Permanent Secretary Ministry of Local Government Mr.John Muhanguzi Kashaka failed to procure 70,000 bicycles for Local Council(LC 1) chairmen country wide after the funds were released to him by the government.

As a result of his actions a financial loss by the government of Shs4.2 billion was incurred. The culprit and five other colleagues were apprehended by the authorities, prosecuted by the Anti corruption court and sentenced to serve 10 years in jail and at the sometime the Court ordered John Muhanguzi Kashaka to refund a sixth of the Shs4.2 billion lost in the botched procurement deal.

OPM PRDP scandal -Kazinda Former Accountant General OPM 2011

The scandal came to light after a special audit was conducted in 2011 and it found out that a financial scandal of Shs38.3billions had occurred involving some top officials of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

One of these official was Geoffrey Kazinda the former Accountant general Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).These officials caused the government to lose Shs38.3 billion through embezzlement,fraud and theft.

The funds meant for Peace, Recovery and Development Plant (PRDP) for the Northern Uganda and Karamoja sub region post-war reconstruction scheme however it was diverted to fund other activities  without proper authorisation.

For instance, Shs1.8 billion was used to procure eight vehicles for seven ministers and the Prime Minister,some of the funds were stolen by high ranking officials from the  Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

It’s against this background that Geoffrey Kazinda the former Accountant general Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) was prosecuted by the Anti corruption court for abuse of office,embezzlement,causing financial loss of Shs38.3billion to the government and later sentenced to 10 years in jail which he is still serving up to now.

Ministry of Public Service Pension scandal 2010

This scandal was masterminded by three top government officials namely:Mr Jimmy Lwamafa(the former Ministry of public service Permanent secretary,Mr Christopher Obey, (the former the Principal accountant Ministry of public service) and Mr Stephen Kunsa (the former Director Research and Development Ministry of public service) in two financial years of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 whereby the trio conspired to divert the public service pension funds through embezzlement, fraudulent entries and false accounting on the Ministry of public service pension payment systems.

It is alleged that the trio formed a fraud scheme using an unapproved payment system and created several ghost pensioner accounts, and then they purportedly paid Shs88 billions into these ghost accounts.

This amount of money was later withdrawn and stolen by the trio and caused the government of Uganda to lose Shs88billion in this scandal.

The trio were arrested, prosecuted for abuse of office, fraud and theft of public resources in the courts of law and senteced to serve their jail terms in prison up to date.

NSSF Shs2.7 billion scandal – Former NSSF Managing Director David Chandi Jamwa 2009

This scandal involved the former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Managing Director David Chandi Jamwa when he caused a financial loss of 2.7 billion UGX to the Fund in 2009 by selling National Social Security Fund (NSSF) bonds to the defunct Crane Bank before maturity, he was later arrested at the Uganda –Kenya border while he attempted to flee the country to Kenya.

He was prosecuted for abuse of office and causing financial loss of Shs2.7 billions to National Social Security Fund(NSSF),he was sentenced and convicted by the courts of law to serve 12 years in jail.

The Temangalo NSSF scandal -Former Prime Minister Right Hon John Patrick Amama Mbabazi and Ugandan Businessman Amos Nzeyi 2008

It emerged when the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda Right Hon John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, made a deal with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) by selling them a piece of land loacted in Temangalo that he jointly owned with Ugandan businessman Amos Nzeyi .

The duo, together with the former Minister of Finance Dr Ezra Suruma who supervised NSSF, owned the now defunct National Bank of Commerce (NBC) in which they invested their money from the land deal they made with NSSF.

A parliamentary probe was conducted to find out how National Social Security Fund (NSSF) bought the land, after a probe, the report called for action to be made against Right Hon John Patrick Mbabazi and Dr Ezra Suruma since they had violated the conflict of interest rule.When the motion came in the House, it was quashed.

The land has total 411.44 acres and was bought at Shs 11.2 billion (Shs 24 million per acre).

The procurement of vehicles for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM) saga –Former Vice President HE Professor Bukenya  Balibaseka Gilbert 2007

In 2007 Uganda hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM), an audit was done  after the meeting and as a result a report was compiled and submitted to the relevant authorities.

The report implicated all high profile persons and ministers who were responsible in organising the meeting in the mismanagement of government the funds and resources.

The former Vice President HE Professor Bukenya Balibaseka Gilbert was not spared. The others were the former Prime Minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, Ministers Sam Kuteesa, Hope Mwesigye, John Byabagambi, John Nasasira and Jachan Omach-all these were on the CHOGM management committee, their actions cost Uganda to lose billions shillings.

The initial budget for the CHOGM meeting was Shs 270 billion but it was inflated to Shs500 billion by the management committee. The report accused the ministers and several senior government officials of inflating prices, awarding conference tenders to their family and friends and making abnormal profits from the mismanagement of the CHOGM meeting.

After the investigations, Professor Bukenya Balibaseka Gilbert was arrested and remanded to Luzira prisons ministers such as the then government chief whip John Nasasira, foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa, and minister of state for labour Mwesigwa Rukutana were summoned but they didn’t appear.

However, John Patrick Amama Mbabazi was exonerated and cleared by the report of the then Inspector General of Government (IGG) Raphael Baku in June 2011.

Some of the culprits in this scandal are still serving in the same government and they were never taken to prison, Professor Bukenya Balibaseka Gilbert was imprisoned at Luzira Maximum Security Prison but was later released. Justice was never done by the relevant authorities in this corruption related scandal that caused the government of Uganda to lose huge amounts of public funds/resources in billions of shillings.

The Ghost soldiers’ saga – UPDF 2003

Complaints of money meant for soldiers who did not exist(‘Ghosts’) had been received by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces(UPDF) often in earlier years, but in 2003, what came to be known as the ghost soldier scandal clearly unfolded.

It emerged that army units, especially in the war-torn Northern Uganda region where the battle against Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army(LRA) was active,some of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) commanders at the battle fields in the areas of Northern Uganda region inflated and exaggerated the actual numbers of the existing soldiers creating lists and names of dubious non existing the so called ‘UPDF Ghost soldiers’  so as cause financial losses to the government estimated in billions of Uganda shillings ,and as a result these errant Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Commanders  would make huge differences from  the UPDF soldiers monthly salaries.

The same scenario of creating ‘Ghost soldiers’/false miltary strength numbers by the Battle field Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Commanders is said to have been observed  at number of military units that operated in the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) and  in Western Uganda when the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) engaged  the Allied Democratic Forces(ADF) rebels. Some experts estimated that Uganda lost about US $324 million in 20 years through   the ‘ghost soldiers scandal’.

In 2007, the Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) found 3,000 ghost soldiers on its payroll system during a clean up exercise. The revelation came four years after the president set up a committee of inquiry in 2003 to investigate claims of the existence of ghost soldiers within the UPDF ranks.

Following the finding of ghost soldiers, the Ministry of Defense installed a robust and secure computerized system known as the Records Management Information System(RMIS) to track and monitor  the numbers of existing UPDF soldier in service(Military strength), salaries, employment statuses, Biodata etc. No one was held responsible for this mess.

Global/GAVI Fund scandal – Honourables Jim Muhwezi,Mike Mukula and Alex Musinguzi 2005

The scandal came light when the then Minister of Health Major General Jim Muhwezi together with his two juniors Mike Mukula and Alex Kamugisha mismanaged the grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The grants were worth Shs1.4 trilion that included two grants to combat HIV/AIDS, two grants targeting malaria and one grant for tuberculosis. All five grants were suspended by the donor in August 2015 due to concerns about mismanagement by the Project Management Unit (PMU), an entity within the Ministry of Health.

A commission of inquiry was put in place and the report interdicted Former state ministers Honourable Mike Mukula and Honourable Alex Kamugisha in two separate thefts of Shs 6 billions from a grant of   Shs 14.3 billions to the Ministry of Health from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

The trio Honourable Jim Muhwezi the former Minister of Health, Honourable Mike Mukula former State Minister for Health, and Honourable Alex Kamugisha former State Minister for Health were found guilty,but only the two former State ministers for Health namely Honourable Mike Mukula and Honourable Alex Kamugisha were arrested prosecuted by the Anti corruption court and imprisoned for about two months and they were set free.

The Valley dam Shs3.5 billion scandal-Former Minister of Agriculture and Vice President Her Excellency Dr Specioza Wandira Kazibwe 2003

This scandal was exposed in 2003 and involved top government ministers and political leaders. It was alleged that the government of Uganda released Shs3.5 billion meant to build valley dams to trap water in the semi-arid areas of Eastern Uganda and Karamoja regions, instead these top government officials connived and misappropriated the Shs3.5 billion meant for this project with no valley dams constructed in the said areas.

It was the primary responsibility of the former Minister of Agriculture Dr Specioza Wandira Kazibwe to supervise the  construction of the valley dams.The Ministry of Agriculture by then insisted that the valley dams had been built in Eastern Uganda and Karamoja regions but investigations conducted on the ground found out that actually no single than was ever constructed.

In this scandal the former Minister of Agriculture Dr Specioza Wandira Kazibwe put in the spotlight by the government to explain this mess but she was never prosecuted in the courts of law.

Theft of Sh 1.9 billions Uganda Peoples Defence Force(UPDF) salaries saga- Captain Dan Byakutaga 2000

This scandal came to light in 2000 when Captain Dan Byakutaga the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) paymaster in the Ministry of Defence allegedly disappeared with Shs1.9 billions meant for UPDF soldiers salaries.

The Captain vanished up today and has never been apprehended by the authorities to face prosecution in the courts of law. Efforts to involve Interpol to arrest and prosecute elusive Captain have been futile over the years.

The late Major General James Kazini was by then the UPDF Army commander when this saga happened.

Sale of the Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) scandal-Salim Saleh 1998

The scandal involved some top high ranking government officials who were involved as brokers in a bid to sale 49 per cent shares of the Uganda Commercial Bank by then the largest State owned bank to a Malaysian company Westmont Land Asia (the successful bidder) whereas the Uganda parliament had halted this sale.

The successful bidder Westmont Land Asia was found out by the government of Uganda to be a “non existing”/ “briefcase company” with no banking experience and profile to show.

General Salim Saleh(aka Caleb Akandwanaho) former Minister of defence was said to be the  majority shareholder in Westmont Land Asia purchased the Uganda Commercial Bank(UCB),and he immediately sold its shares to Greenland Investments(its entities included Greenland Bank in Uganda) another company in Uganda in which he was also a shareholder.

In his defence before Chief Magistrate Catherine Bamugemereire over the mismanagement of the now defunct Greenland Bank, Sulaiman Kiggundu, who was the bank’s managing director, named top ranking government officials being behind the irregular purchase of the Uganda Commercial Bank (UCB) shares by Greenland Bank.No one was interdicted and prosecuted on this scandal up to date.

The Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) Shs24 billion procurement scandal – Ministry of defence 1990s

The junk tanks and helicopters deal happened in February 1997 when the government signed a contract with Consolidated Sales Corporation (CSC) for the provision of four MI-24 attack helicopters at a total cost of Shs 45.4 billion. Consolidated Sales Corporation (CSC) was an off-shore company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Shs24 billion was paid by the Uganda government that expected to receive the first two choppers, the balance pending delivery of the other two. When they arrived in Uganda Colonnel Joshua Masaba, the former UPDF Air force Commander, certified the two helicopters as airworthy,meanwhile in May 1998 pilots at Entebbe Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) Airforce base declined to fly these junk  MI-24  helicopters because they were imported without logbooks and it was difficult for the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) Airforce pilots to ascertain helicopters flight hours and other technical details  such as date of manufacture, the manufacturer, country of origin, flight hours, form, history, model, capacity, maximium load etc.

It’s alleged that Dr Kiiza Besigye the former military advisor to the Minister of defence was not invited to testify up to day when the government set up a committee   to investigate this matter.

However, in February 2005, Emma Katto who linked Consolidated Sales Corporation (CSC) to the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF)/Ministry of defence was charged with offering a bribe to some top officials in Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF)/Ministry of defence allegedly to influence them award him a tender to supply the junk MI-24 attack helicopters and tanks.

It is also alleged that all the top officials in the Ministry of defence/ Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) involved in this scandal were never prosecuted up to this day. This scandal also caused the country to loss huge amounts of public resources and funds.

The junk ‘Landrovers’/Santana vehicles scandal – UPDF 1988

In 1988 the Uganda government intended to procure motor vehicles for the President’s office and the Ministry of Defence. Grace Ibingira who was former minister in the first post  independence cabinet of Uganda,by then the Spanish Counsel to Uganda brokered a barter deal between Uganda and Spain.

This deal would see Spain supply Uganda with junk ‘Land-rover’(read Santana vehicles) and in exchange the Uganda government would supply coffee to Spain to complete the Barter trade deal between the two countries.In other words,this transaction would be ‘Vehicles-for-coffee’ or ‘Coffe-for-vehicles’ whatever its was by then.

This deal turned out to be scandalous in a sense that the Spanish manufactured ‘Landrovers’ were actually not real ‘Landrovers’ but ‘Santanas’.

These looked like the British made Land-rovers the exception was that the ‘Santanas’ were smaller in size, with low automotive power, weak body, not stable on the road and their fuel consumption were twice as much as that of the real British manufactured  Land-rover.

Honourable Balaki Kirya the former Minister of State in the Office in Charge of Security travelled to Spain to sign the Barter trade agreement between Uganda and Spain and upon arrival in Spain the minister was perplexed to find out that 260 ‘Landrovers’(‘Santana) vehicles valued at US$6.1 million had already been shipped to Uganda meanwhile there were powerful political and government agents/lobbyists in Uganda negotiating for the importation of another round of 260 ‘Land-rovers’/ ‘Santanas valued at US $8 million.

However,as this saga leaked to the mass media and the press in Uganda, from the Bank of Uganda(BoU) archives it can be observed that on April 8, 1988 a Memorandum on the foreign exchange position  by the governor of Bank of Uganda(BoU) by then indicated among other payments to be made in that year was for the 260 ‘Land-rovers’/Santanas from Spain for the Office of the president and 600 ‘Land-rovers’/’Santanas for the Ministry of Defence as well as the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) Army uniforms from Spain.

The plunder by UPDF of natural resources of the Democratic of Republic of Congo (DRC) scandal- 1997-2003

The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) over the years has continued with their operations to deploy its personnel in the Democratic of Republic of Congo (DRC) as its mandate to fight to secure the Country’s boundaries and neuralize the negative rebel insurgents/terrorists using the Democratic of Republic of Congo (DRC) as a platform to attempt to wage war, cause insecurity and destabilize Ugand and its regional neigbours.

Currently Uganda and other East African Countries have deployed their armies to fight the emerging insurgent groups habouring and operating in the thick forests of the Democratic of Republic of Congo (DRC).

This is the reason the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces(UPDF) launched Operation Sujaa in the Democratic of Republic of Congo (DRC) to engage and defeat these insurgents such as The Lords Resistance Army(LRA) of Joseph Kony,the Allied Democratic Forces(ADF) reminants of the jailed  Jamil Mukulu and others.

It was alleged by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) sitting in The Hague in 2005 that between 1997 and 2003 the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF)  troops while deployed in the Democratic of Republic of Congo (DRC) were involved in plunder of its natural resources and orchestrated gross human rights abuses to the local population in the Democratic of Republic of Congo ( DRC).

Its against this background that the International Court of Justice(ICJ) found Uganda guilty through the actions of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces(UPDF)  of violating the sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), by plundering its natural resources and orchestrating human rights abuses.

In its defence the government of Uganda informed the International Court of Justice(ICJ) that said it had sent its soldiers to the Democratic of Republic of Congo (DRC) to pursue the Allied Democratic Forces(ADF) and the Lords Resistance Army(LRA) rebels/insurgents who were causing insecurity and destabilised parts of Western Uganda by then.

As the saying goes “There is no fire without smoke” ,some top Uganda Peoples Defence Forces(UPDF) commanders were found culpable and guilty of the said offences by the International Court of Justice(ICJ), and its against this background that International Court of Justice(ICJ)ruling ordered the government of Uganda to pay a fine of US$ 10 billions to the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) as an out of court settlement.

The Danze Tax Evasion saga 1996

It is alleged that some high ranking government officials and business men in Uganda owned a company called Danze in 1996 that operated for one decade to evade taxes on both imported and exported commodities.

It was estimated that the Uganda government incurred a financial loss of  over Shs6b (about $3.4m) in tax evasions for commodities(exports and imports) smuggled into and out of  the country during a period of about 12 months.

The Uganda police through its Anti-Smuggling Unit (ASU) was tasked to investigate, apprehend and possibly prosecute the culprits if found culpable.

Up to date no person was arrested and prosecuted meanwhile the company is said to have been deregistered in Uganda.

Conclusion and recommendations

I can opine that the government of Uganda has all the resources and mandate to address the emergent corruption/graft related offences sometimes committed by political leaders and high profile individuals connected to the ‘inner’ circles of the State.

In order to defeat high level corruption related activities that occur now and them within the government and orchestrated by its public servants and high profile individuals, the State must not politicize corruption and the embezzlement of public funds and resources a small group of individuals;

The Government on its side should use a multipronged, multidisciplinary, concerted and a holistic approach to address these gross corruption related emerging sophiscated syndicates sometimes highly politically connected groups/individuals causing huge losses of financial and public resources and funds.

Its against this background the I recommend to the government of Uganda to apply the following measures to deter more corruption tendencies among its political leaders/high profile individuals regardless of their statuses within the community/ society/country,  Administer severe punishments for all those found culpable and guilty of corruption related offences involving huge losses of public resources and funds for example:

i)Death by shooting: The State should apply the Chinese Laws .Any citizen of the Republic of Uganda that is found guilty of being corrupt and causing huge financial losses to the country should be put on firing squad and shot dead under the watchful eyes of the public or the Wanainchi. This will deter those who intend to be corrupt and cause huge financial losses of public resourcesand funds to the government,

ii)Death by hanging:If found guilty by the courts of laws,all culprits with corruption related offences should be summarily executed/killed by hanging in prison, and the burial of their bodies will be the responsibility of the State not their families,

iii)Death by lethal injection: If found guilty by the courts of laws,all culprits with corruption related offences should be summarily executed/killed by lethal injection in prison,and the burial of their bodies will be the responsibility of the State not their families,

iv)Death by gas chamber:All corrupt individuals should face death in a gas chamber fully of poisonous fumes or gases,

v)All wealthy accumulated by the culprits must be taken over by the government-This measure is operational but the government needs to do more and get it scaled up and widen the ‘net’ to identify all the property of these culprits,their associates,whether these property are existing within the country or kept away secretly outside the country.

vi)Life imprisonment-If found guilty ,always a maximium sentence should be administered to the culprits.All prisoners serving after committing corruption related offences that led the government to loss huge sums of funds and public resources should regarded as ‘Public enemies’.This implies that the prisons/jail should be their homes till their deaths occur,

vii)The refund mechanism: If one is found guilty of committing corruption related offence(s),he/she must refund all the public resources/funds in his/her possesion,in addition to being subjected to the above mentioned punishments,

viii)Government should desist from the carrot–and-stick soft gloves approach: If a political leader/ high profile individual commits corruption related offences regardless of their status in our society, they ought to be severely punished by the State, dismissed from their employment positions, all their wealthy should be confiscated by the State in addition to freezing of their bank accounts(whether within or outside the country,apply to them all or a combination of the above mentioned penalties. The State should desist from politically shielding and protecting offenders of corruption related offences involving colossal and huge amounts of public resources and funds.

ix) If the corrupt citizens are holding public/ministerial offices/are members of parliament, they should be immediately removed from their offices and employments to pave way for investigation, possible prosecution and if found culpable and guilty, they should be sentenced to life imprisonment, death after refunding all the resources they stole from the government coffers or State should apply a combination of penalities mentioned above.

If the government of Uganda applies the above mentioned measures to fight corruption in the country, it is envisaged that this vice will be permanently solved, never to reoccur again and will be a history.

Quote “Those who fight corruption should be clean themselves” –Vladmir Putin the Russian President

The author is Kizito Simon Njaye, African Research Consult-Uganda Chapter, Research Associate.

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