IGG decries political interference

Friday, 22 February 2013 08:13

Written by Sulaiman Kakaire & Hussein Bogere

IGG Irene Mulyagonja Kakooza In Uganda, high-level corruption gets most of the headlines, but the protection of the corrupt from investigation and prosecution by high-level politicians is what bothers the Inspector General of Government.

In a revealing interview with The Observer, IGG Irene Mulyagonja Kakooza provides a rare look inside her work, priorities and challenges. Mulyagonja says political interference from ‘godfathers’ and ‘godmothers’ of the corrupt is the biggest challenge to her work.

“In our system of doing things, say in local government and central government, people tend to have godfathers and godmothers,” she said.

“So, when you touch a person in public service for wrongdoing, many times there will be someone who will come and say: ‘Why are you doing this? This person has been helping us.‘ Sometimes it is even said that they are being witch-hunted. Others will say that complaint was brought because this person is DP and the other people are NRM.”

She revealed that many public servants, especially those facing corruption-related charges, under-declared their assets while trying to fulfill requirements of the Leadership Code Act.

“Of late there have been no finds of people under- declaring their assets except of course in the obvious cases of people who have been prosecuted in the case of OPM and public service. There are some declarations which I won’t disclose that are glaring and we are trying to verify those people’s assets ever since news broke revealing their shocking wealth,” she said.

Mulyagonja also revealed that the inspectorate was not well-constituted despite the fact that a new deputy was approved by parliament recently.

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See full interview here

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+3 #1 emma lo keim 2013-02-22 11:31

a leader who doesnt absolutely fight corruption means that he/she is an acomplice to the vice. uganda has one of the best constititions in africa,save for the fools and idiots who take bribes to alter it e.g term limits.

The constitution is very clear on the doctrine of separation of powers but jus beacuse NRM is at the helm of corrution or corruption is at the helm of nrm and they adopt divide&rule
when it comes prosecution.

cases like DPP ordering the speaker to halt PAC proceedings on amama and janet in fear of subjudice is total foolery to ugandans.
lets all be reminded that are watching

you time is up-NRM the most corrupt regime ugandans have ever witnessed

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0 #2 Mweru Samuel Byachi 2013-02-22 13:52

The IGG is right but she should be able to understand this scenario from a sociological perspective.

"I am because we are and since we are therefore i am". She should also benefit from her prosecution office and that of the police as to why we do not want to testify against witnesses.

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+1 #3 Peter Marco 2013-02-22 15:11

Stop pointing fingers Mr emma lo keim while you know the main cause of the problem,try to listen to Tamale Mirundi on Radio and you will know why corruption in Uganda is high.

The corrupt individuals are clever than what you think and they are DP,NRM,CP,FDC,t hey are Judges,Lawyers, MPs,Minister,RD Cs,Army Officers,CAO,Di strict Leaders,Mayors, Doctors,Teacher s,Govt workers,PS, and Business pple.

So the problem is that Ugandans are not ready to fight corruption and not willing,they blame one Man, the President while the judges grant bail and give out less punishment to corrupt individuals.

When Mukula was sent to Luzira how many opposition MPs supported the govt on him being in prison,they just said that they will help him to come out, pple like Hon Ekanya and Hon Nsereko trying to support him. They are many agents of corrupt officials and supporters of them,they are clever and willing to steal Uganda of everything even if we change M7 or not they use the judges to get away with it.

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+1 #4 kasozi 2013-02-22 17:38

And you really thought that you would be independent with this sort of regime? Please,you are part of a political chess game being played in Uganda for your information.

You are just there to show the donors that there's democracy here but in reality, am sorry to say that you are toothless and actually not needed by the regime sycophants and thieves.

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0 #5 James Kakinda 2013-02-23 01:59

That Mulyagonja is not capable of the job! This we knew from the very point of time when she started giving wrong excuses and her excuses are always similar!

Announce it to the public clearly that you cannot afford the job and let your designation be submitted.

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+2 #6 Hilary 2013-02-23 13:55

I understand your situation Madamme Irene. But it somehow makes me suspect that you never knew what the challenges of your new assignment were and what was expected of you.

You ought to have looked at the performance of your predecessors, the challenges they faced and how best you will confront and face these challenges.

It is not news at all that in the fight against corruption in Uganda you have to meet obstacles like political interference. This is why we thought a lady of your stature with such a clean record would prevail over such interferences.

So when you start standing to the sides and crying foul then you are no different from us who are not mandated to work in a crucial office. I strongly advise you to revisit yourself and know what is expected of you if you possess it set out to perform you Ombudsman duties as enshrined in the Constitution, lest RESIGN.

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IGG decries political interference

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