In a nation where corruption looms large over every sector, President Yoweri Museveni’s pledge to eradicate this pervasive issue has been met with both scepticism and hope.
The promise of a cleaner, more transparent government has been a cornerstone of Museveni’s administration, yet the reality tells a starkly different story. Despite numerous initiatives and public declarations, the fight against corruption in Uganda has stumbled even before it truly began.
Numerous anti-corruption initiatives have been implemented under Museveni’s leadership, from the creation of specialised agencies such as the State House Ant-Corruption Unit, the new State House Revenue Intelligence and Strategic Operations Unit to do oversight on Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) operations and fight corruption within the tax administration system to the arrest of prominent public figures.
The former under the stewardship of Col. Edith Nakalema tried but the big fish in the ocean called corruption were left free while the small ones became victims of the circumstances. As a country, there is also a full organ purposely to fight this, the Office Inspector General of Government.
However, structural problems and political meddling have frequently thwarted these initiatives. The very organisations entrusted with eliminating corruption are often complicit in the very behaviours they are designed to oppose. There are ongoing claims of bribery, nepotism, and misappropriation of public funds, which seriously undermine the integrity of the government.
Furthermore, the judiciary has not been exempt from the destructive effects of corruption, despite its role as the final arbiter of justice. Public confidence in the legal system is damaged when cases against well-known individuals are postponed or dropped under questionable circumstances.
Because of the widespread absence of accountability, impunity flourishes and the corruption cycle keeps going unchecked. The question yet stands: can a war be won when the enemy is well entrenched in the ranks of the purported liberators and the battlefield is full of traps? Gen Museveni must overcome these formidable obstacles.
But What is Corruption?
It is believed that corruption is a social, legal, political, and economic concept. One of the phenomenon’s multiple facets is highlighted in the definitions.
According to Khan (2004), there are five categories into which the different methods of corruption can be divided: market-centred, public office-centered, public interest-centered, public opinion-centered, and legalistic.
Despite this claim, corruption is described in terms of the interaction between the state and society, where differences are established between bureaucratic and political corruption (small vs. large); and extractive and redistributive corruption (from below vs. above). For the sake of this article, corruption is defined more specifically as the “use of public office for private gain.”
From the last definition of using public office for private gains in Uganda, this is now a culture which even the sucklings think is a big deal today, this is why in the past 20 years people have been leaving their well-paying jobs and running for political office not to serve the people but to also join the league of those who harvest where they never sawed.
But How did we reach here? The first handlers of this country where Gen. Museveni also is among dug the foundation of the storm we are experiencing now called corruption which is hitting Uganda more than Hurricane Patricia.
When Uganda gained independence in 1962, the first two governments saw four evil seeds whose fruit is the escalating corruption we see that has made Ugandans think it’s normal.
After the leaving of the whites, our society was embraced with four evil seeds; Bribery, Tribalism, Nepotism, and Sectarianism. With these four evil seeds, corruption often becomes deeply entrenched and self-perpetuating. These divisive practices have vehemently undermined meritocracy and fairness and created fertile ground for corrupt activities to flourish.
In 1986, when the new dawn was unleashed upon the Pearl of Africa, many believed that the four evil seeds of bribery, nepotism, tribalism, and sectarianism would be eradicated to ensure a healthy and united society. However, this was not what was in the minds of the so-called liberators.
As the allure of power grew ever sweeter, the liberators became a perfect reflection of those they had fought against from 1984 to 1986. the liberators have proved to be even a hundred times worse. The levels of bribery, nepotism, tribalism, and sectarianism in the current government far exceed those of all past administrations.
Gen. Museveni as a soldier may not be corrupt but he has used all means of it to see that he is what he is now. The parliament which is blamed for being corrupt was first seen as corrupt 20 years back when Gen Museveni paid the then legislators to remove the term limits from the constitution. After a few years, the President still leveraged the four evils and bought the heads of the then members of Parliament who removed the Age limit in the constitution.
Aside from that, many ministers whose names have featured in some of the major corruption scandals of this country still serve him. Government civil servants have used their titles to steal peoples’ land. Some have violated traffic laws and go free. Because of this, there is a very big cloud of impunity hovering over the entire administration of this country. And to amend this, fighting corruption must be the second option after factory resetting or total reconstruction of this country.
Saul becoming Paul is easy, but Paul must pay the price
In the past few months, one could say that Gen Museveni experienced an enlightenment akin to the biblical story of Saul, the persecutor of the church, who transformed into Paul, an apostle whose epistles makeup three-quarters of the New Testament. Museveni’s recent anti-corruption rhetoric suggests a newfound commitment to tackling the pervasive issue that has long plagued his administration.
However, Paul paid a steep price for his transformation, completely renouncing his old philosophies and ideologies for the greater good of the fight he had joined. He embraced a new path, fully dedicating himself to his mission without looking back. The question now is: Can Gen Museveni, like Paul, truly abandon the entrenched practices and networks that have defined his rule? Can he forsake and uproot the four evil seeds of bribery tribalism, nepotism, and sectarianism whose predecessors planted but have become synonymous with his administration to genuinely lead the battle against corruption?
The scepticism surrounding Museveni’s recent declarations is not unfounded. Over the years, numerous anti-corruption initiatives have been launched with much fanfare, only to falter in the face of political interference and lack of genuine will.
For Museveni’s transformation to be genuine, it must be accompanied by concrete actions and a willingness to dismantle the very systems that have sustained his power. Only then can the fight against corruption move from rhetoric to reality, and only then can Museveni’s newfound ‘light’ truly illuminate the path towards a transparent and accountable society.
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