The Inspector General of Government, Betty Kamya, has vowed to follow up and investigate the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) after being accused by the general public of releasing figures that are not adding up.

While addressing the media at the Uganda Media Centre (UMC), Kampala, on Thursday, October 10, 2024, the IGG said that she has read and heard about the complaints and her office will investigate.

“We shall definitely get involved in auditing not just the amount but also the processes involved,” Kamya said.

Kamya also confirmed that this is not the first time UBOS has been involved in irregularities, and this time they will follow up.

“Yes, we shall take interest in the UBOS case because in 2022 we made UBOS pay back up to Ugx 1 billion, and as we talk now, over 70% has already been returned. This is an interesting case, and we shall get interested,” Kamya added.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) Executive Director and Census Commissioner, Dr. Chris Mukiza, admitted on October 6, 2024, that there were significant errors in the information on tribes in the 2024 Census results he released.

The contradictions that caught more public attention were mainly on the figures of tribes, where the report indicated that Acholi has reduced from 2.1 million to 1.9 million in the 10 years from 2014, while Bagisu are only 2.1 million, down from 2.4 million at the last census, and other figures of other tribes that were not correct.

According to the director of the Ombudsman’s office, Steven Okiror, most offices that they investigate are always cooperative, but it’s just that they lack resources to fully execute their duties.

“As an office, we get a lot of complaints, and we don’t have all the necessary resources to fill up on every complaint in time,” Okiror said.

Muniru Ali, the head of partnerships, said that the office of the IGG will be commemorating International Ombuds Day 2024 on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

“The commemoration of Ombuds Day is intended to enhance awareness of the Ombudsman function and expound on the broad approaches that the Ombudsman uses to ensure efficient and effective access to service delivery,” Muniru said.

The Directorate of Ombudsman, headed by Stephen Okiror, is responsible for maintaining rule of law and good governance in public offices through investigation of administrative practices of public officers and conducting systems studies.