President Yoweri Museveni has called for unity in the fight against corruption
The President made this clarion call through his account on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“It is possible to crush corruption through the alliance of patriots (I count myself as one of them) and the victims, the masses. The masses can be encountered in the village barazas, etc. The patriots are to be found in the political leadership, some public servants, the churches, etc.” – President Museveni.
Over the last couple of weeks, the President has made the fight against corruption the main part of his addresses.
What started as a State of the Nation Address has culminated in the arrest of five MPs on corruption-related charges.
These include MPs Cissy Namujju (Lwengo DWR) and Yusuf Mutembuli (Bunyoli East). Others are Paul Akamba (Busiki County) and Mudimi Ignatius (Elgon County). Similarly, Igara East MP Michael Mawanda was arrested on corruption-related charges.
On Monday evening, President Museveni also confirmed that there’s alarming evidence against the five MPs.
“Since some of the cases are in court, the law does not allow us to comment on them. The evidence will come in court. However, I can assure the Ugandans, that these vices will be stamped out.” President Museveni said.
The President was also not kind to people who say his party, NRM, is soft on corruption. The public had raised concerns over the government’s will in the fight against corruption after a number of MPs led by Speaker Anita Among seemingly condoned corruption at a rally in Lwengo District.
However, according to the President, the challenge they face in this fight is the lack of evidence. Additionally, the President also questioned the commitment of public servants in fighting corruption.
“Who are the responsible officers for money? It is the Permanent Secretary in a Ministry, a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in a district, a town clerk in a city or municipality, a Gombolola Chief in a sub-county, and a managing Director in a parastatal. In the constitution, it is these that are responsible for government money, for personnel affairs, for procurement.” President Museveni said.
However, it was not all praise for the NRM as he accepted that he hasn’t been diligent in fighting corruption. The President noted that this was inspired by the fact that he advocated for the hiring of competent personnel to handle money and procurement.
But according to him, these have since let the country down. Additionally, President Museveni pledged to work with victims of this corruption to crush it.
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