Earlier this week, Britain sanctioned the speaker of the Ugandan parliament, Rt Hon. Anita Among, together with Mary Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu, former ministers for the Karamoja region.
In a bid to combat corruption in the Ugandan government, the UK government issued sanctions against the said regime officials, who will be subject to travel bans and asset freezes under the UK’s Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime.
Could this be the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end of financial and criminal sanctions against Ugandan government officials?
Sanctions are not new in Uganda, but these have always come from the United States and European Union, targeting government officials, especially from the country’s security agencies like the police and army, for violations against fundamental human rights.
Earlier this year, President Museveni reshuffled his cabinet and dropped the sanctioned ministers, which I believe was a punishment for their involvement in the organized theft of iron sheets meant for the people of Karamoja.
In his response, Parliament spokesperson Chris Obore and other pro Among propagandists have termed the sanctions targeting the Speaker as a witch hunt for having presided over the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. This has since been the excuse from pro-among propagandists and paid bloggers every time an accountability claim against her is raised.
However, Britain said Kitutu and Nandutu had stolen thousands of iron sheets from a government-funded housing project aimed at helping vulnerable communities in Karamoja, and the speaker also benefited from the proceeds of the theft.
In March of this year, the same Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament was criticized by social media and mainstream media for allegedly collecting huge sums in allowance spending on foreign travel, including trips that did not happen. The campaign alleged that Among was paid the equivalent of $894,500 in per diem and entertained allowances between July 2023 and January 2024. Wow!
This is an astonishing amount for a country struggling to implement its budget amid persistent revenue shortfalls.
The former Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpugga, and other members of the Parliamentary Commission were among the other parliament staff accused of corruption by allegedly gifting themselves with UGX 500 million and UGX 400 million, respectively, for no work done but just as an appreciation award.
So, what is the future of Uganda’s parliament? An institution tasked with holding the government accountable for public funds.
These findings discredit the speaker of parliament and the institution locally and globally on the morality of fostering accountability roles.
All the anti-corruption agencies, like CID, IGG, and the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, didn’t bother investigating the alleged corruption scandal. Are accountability agencies in bed with corruption? Because no accountability measures were put forward!
Citizens will definitely jubilate every time sanctions are issued since these will be seen as the only hope they can achieve, which makes sanctions inevitable.
On another sad note, the minister of Internal Affairs in Uganda, General Kahinda Otafiire this week acknowledged receiving multiple petitions from businessmen and citizens who claim to have been victims of extortion by operatives of the anti-corruption unit at State House.
According to Otafiire, these petitions highlight instances where individuals have allegedly been coerced into paying bribes to prevent negative criminal reports from being filed against them by the corruption unit. Among those who have lodged complaints is Kampala-based lawyer Balondemu David, who asserts that he has been targeted by the corruption unit after refusing to comply with bribery demands for a bribe of UGX 30 million in exchange for the return of his confiscated smartphones and land cruiser car, which were seized by corruption unit investigators prior to his bail hearing.
Will President Museveni disband or reshuffle the unit he set up in his office to fight corruption? Well, the country is waiting for his reaction!
Sanity in the administration of public funds shouldn’t be left as a responsibility of only the international community and donor agencies, but a daily responsibility of the government, its officials, and entrusted institutions.
Should we always wait for sanctions against corrupt government officials? Pro-active measures should be enforced!
Non-accountability makes sanctions inevitable, as the majority of the population will keep yawning and welcoming them to save the Treasury. There must be a great deal of worry that the recent sanctions could just be an eye-opener for the rest of the world, for example, the United States and the European Union, who are among the leading aid and donor mobilizers in Uganda, for the increased misuse of public funds, the non-fostering of accountability by entrusted institutions, and criminal sanctions for any attempts to violate human rights.
Is it the end of a beginning or the beginning of the end of financial and criminal sanctions against Ugandan government officials?
