The NRM Government led by H.E The President Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has intensified the war against corruption under the policy of Zero-tolerance to Corruption. In a no-holds-barred interview with Stephen Bwire, the Head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Brig Gen Henry Isoke, shares his perception, including the strategic milestones registered in the fight against corruption. Excerpts below:-
How would you describe your experience of fighting corruption under the direct supervision of H.E The President?
I feel privileged and honoured to have been appointed by the Commander-In-Chief to serve in this capacity, especially under his direct supervision.
The State House Anti-Corruption Unit is mandated to enable H.E The President to exercise his executive authority to realise the National Objectives and State Policy to expose, combat and eradicate corruption. The Unit exists to revitalise the fight against corruption by catalyzing the rapid resolution of corruption complaints through receiving, scrutinizing and coordinating a speedy conclusion of corruption cases by the constitutionally mandated Agencies.
I thank the NRM Secretariat for the good work of ensuring that the Party in leadership delivers on its mandate. We equally thank the Secretary General, who recently paid us a visit and we held detailed discussions on fighting corruption.
What have been your key landmark achievements from the time you assumed office?
Together with my team, a lot has been achieved. We have got different departments that are properly synchronized to achieve a singular objective of fiercely fighting corruption and eliminating it from our country. This robust team is segmented into the various departments namely; the Legal Department; the Investigations Department; the communication and Media team; the Call Centre, which comprises many young energetic people, who work tirelessly 24/7, receiving complaints from across the country. We also have a client relations team, who attend to walk-ins to receive people’s complaints.
The team I head is solid and coherent. We are thin in terms of human resource but effective when it comes to delivery.
We have strengthened partnerships and collaborations with other mandated institutions i.e. the Inspectorate of Government, Internal Security Organisation (ISO), Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), Office of the Auditor General, etc.
We have built strong internal systems that have enabled us execute our mandate. Therefore, a combination of all the above has enabled us conduct a number of investigations that have led to 544 people arraigned in court and 91 persons convicted, among whom 59 are public officials. So far, SH-ACU has registered 518,974 complaints from wananchi, investigated several cases and saved/recovered Ugx 55BN.
There is general perception that Uganda is losing the war on graft. How true or false is this?
It is certainly not true that we are losing the war on graft. The war on corruption is a people’s war. Day by day, we see an increase in people’s participation and keen interest in fighting corruption. Here at our office, we get about 200 calls daily, through our Call Centre, reporting incidents of corruption from across the country.
The Government has got various institutions and legislations enacted all to combat corruption.
There is also the strong political will as demonstrated by H.E The President, who has pronounced himself and declared war on the vice of corruption under the policy of Zero-tolerance to corruption.
How much collaboration is there between the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) and other state and non-state actors in the fight against corruption, and promotion of accountability?
As earlier mentioned, we work very closely with other state and non-state actors engaged in the fight against corruption. We work with CMI, CID, ISO, DPP, IGG, Auditor General, FIA, the Media etc.
Through this collaboration, we have built synergy and avoided duplication and achieved complementarity. The fight against corruption takes a multi-pronged approach, we can’t do it alone.
There is a view that the creation of other Agencies by H.E The President to fight corruption is eroding the power and strength of the statutory bodies mandated to fight corruption by duplicating roles. What do you have to say about this?
I want to say that H.E The President is a visionary leader. Through his strategic intensions, he is able to identify the missing gaps and devise ways of plugging those loopholes. Yes, there are institutions mandated to fight corruption, but they need back-up. H.E The President has objectives to ensure that the state functions and that is how he created the State House Anti-Corruption Unit in December 2018, which I am now superintending, and I have told you about the achievements and these achievements testify that we work together as anti-corruption agencies.
Recently, H.E The President saw the need to fight corruption in the investment sector and thus, he has created the State House Investors Protection Unit headed by my predecessor, Col Edith Nakalema.
There is concern that SH-ACU would only go for the “small fish” while leaving the “big fish” to go scot-free. What is your take on this?
That is a very subjective matter. A snake is a snake and a fish is a fish, whatever the size. I am sure that if you are bitten by a small snake, however young it may be, you would die of its poison. Much of the corruption you hear about is being engineered and carried out by junior officers in the public and civil service. Go to the Lands sector, you will find that it’s the junior officers who are fraudulently messing up people’s titles and being accessories to land grabbing. Even if you went to the Local Government, same story.
But concerning the big fish, I am sure you have seen some big people, including Ministers being arrested and arraigned in court over corruption-related crimes. You have also seen high-ranking Accounting officers being charged over graft. (In most cases, the so called “big fish” do not have a trail).
What critical challenges do you find as SH-ACU in executing your mandate of fighting corruption?
We are fighting syndicated corruption, which is very complicated because you will find a lot of internal collusion with outsiders. This is what we would call institutionalized corruption.
We also face the problem of impostors or people masquerading to belong to our office. Such people would taint the good image of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit. We have arrested some, while others are on the run.
We also have some errant individuals/officials mudsling the image of SH-ACU, especially those whose toes we have stepped on; they go on making all sorts of statements against us.
The other challenge we face is the heavy workload. The other structures of Government may not be keen to execute their duties as mandated and this has ended up pushing the workload to us. As earlier mentioned, we receive over 200 calls a day.
How would you gauge the public confidence in the SH-ACU
I want to report that the public confidence in our Unit is high and growing by day. When you see the sheer numbers of people walking in here to register complaints and report corrupt tendencies, including the overwhelming phone calls our Call Centre receives, then you will realize that the public has confidence in us. But what I want to re-emphasize is that fighting corruption is everybody’s responsibility, as enshrined in the Constitution, Article 17(1) (i), which provides that, it is the duty of every citizen of Uganda to combat corruption and misuse or waste of public property.
Whistleblowers feel they aren’t secure whenever they avail confidential information to you, while some would complain of not being rewarded for their effort. What is your take on this?
We have got very trained professionals to manage our information, including lawyers. They ensure that whistleblowers are protected. I have not yet heard of any issue of a whistleblower being mistreated or officer, who mismanages information from whistleblowers. About the rewards to the whistleblowers, the rewards are given upon recovery of stolen resources.
Why does the President appoint men and women in military uniform to fight corruption?
Right from recruitment, all through the training up to the last stage of service, you will notice that military officers exude a high level of discipline, integrity and patriotism. Military cadres are trained to serve their nation above any other interest, and most of them would be very uncompromising when it comes to issues which go against the ethical principles, including corruption.
Is it possible that we shall have a country “free of corruption”?
Having a country free of corruption is our vision. But at the same time, it’s very difficult to achieve because of the obvious reason I told you that corruption is systematic and syndicated in our system. We may not totally eliminate corruption, but we could significantly reduce it. I have not seen or heard of any country which does not have any single corrupt person. We just have to build our system, including the digital system to lessen person to person contact.
We also have to identify the right cadres within the institutions tasked to fight corruption.
We have a saying at our Unit “See Something, Say Something”
