I will continue fighting corruption — Nakalema

The outgoing head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), Col. Edith Nakalema, has vowed to continue fighting corruption.

Nakalema warned those who have been fighting her, saying leaving the unit does not mean she has stopped the fight that she started in 2018, when it was launched by President Yoweri Museveni “Many people will say I have left the unit, but I am going for a course to acquire leadership skills to continue supporting it in the fight against corruption,” she said.

Nakalema was speaking during the handover ceremony at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) conference hall in Kampala, on Saturday.

Nakalema handed over the SHACU office to Brig. Gen. Henry Isoke at an event presided over by the Secretary in the Office of the President, Haji Yunus Kakande.

She is among the senior Uganda People’s Defence Forces officers who were sent on a one-year training course at the newly established National Defence College in Jinja.

Col Nakalema hands over office to Brig. Gen Henry Isoke at the Office of the Prime Minister. Photo by Michael Odeng

Nakalema thanked President Museveni for demonstrating political will and for his unrelenting effort in the fight against corruption.

She, however, noted that despite the strong institutional framework established by the President to fight corruption, the vice remains an obstacle to Uganda’s development.

Nakalema said during her tenure in office, the unit has saved the Government over sh32b that had been in the hands of thieves. She said following the arrest of top government officials, PostBank’s profitability increased from sh3.39b in 2019 to sh10b in 2020 and National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank nontax revenue from sh800m to sh3.69b in one year.

Nakalema further revealed that sh8.65b was saved from the inflated COVID-19 government relief food prices by the OPM in 2020 and sh3.6b from the inflated compensation of Bukasa Inland Port project affected persons.

She also said sh1.5b was recovered from labour export companies that had obtained money from youths seeking employment abroad, sh738m from officials of the Gaming and Lotteries Board and sh246m from municipalities of Jinja, Nansana and Butebo.

Nakalema said the unit has handled more than 10,000 cases and caused the arraignment of 349 suspects in the courts of law, 47 of whom have been convicted.

She further disclosed that 219 cases are under hearing in the courts of law and that 172 are in final stages of investigations.

The unit, according to Nakalema, also coordinated the repatriation of 617 stressed Ugandans from the Middle East and re-united them with their families.

She said the unit’s achievement is because of collaborative efforts with other anti-corruption agencies, including the Criminal Investigations Directorate, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Inspectorate of Government.

Kakande, who described Nakalema as a hardworking officer, said she always dared generals in the fight against corruption. He said Nakalema is a fearless officer, who could not be influenced by anybody, including her superiors, when she arrested their own for committing a crime.

Isoke thanked Museveni for entrusting him with the office.

“As officers and patriots, we are multi-skilled, professional, loyal and always ready to take up any assignment that the President deems fit. I am taking up the appointment with zeal and confidence, knowing the war against corruption is winnable, challenges notwithstanding,” he said.