IGP's hands-on approach swings into action with visits

________________

Away from headquarters in Kampala, the Inspector General has taken the unusual step of personally visiting regional offices.

Foot to the road, Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala, the IGP, led inspections in Kabale, Mbarara, and Masaka, including surprise spot checks at regional referral hospitals.

The visits exposed service delivery failures ranging from overcrowded wards and broken medical equipment to shortages of essential medicines.

Investigators also received allegations that some health workers were demanding illegal payments from patients.

The inspections led to three arrests.

“We are following up these matters with the relevant authorities to ensure they are addressed conclusively,” Batala said.

Oversight visits have also triggered action elsewhere. Reconstruction has begun on a classroom block at Namwanzi Primary School in Kalungu District after the Inspectorate ordered corrective measures following an inspection.

Inside the institution itself, capacity building has become another early priority. Seventy-eight investigators and prosecutors recently completed specialised training in financial crime investigations, conducted in partnership with the Criminal Investigations Directorate, the Anti-Corruption Court and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The goal, Batala said, is to ensure the Inspectorate is better equipped to pursue complex financial crime cases.

Taken together, the early steps signal an attempt to reposition the Inspectorate as both a watchdog and an enforcement body capable of tackling corruption at scale.

Still, Batala is cautious about declaring victory too early.

The deeper test of her reforms will come not in the first hundred days, but in whether they lead to sustained prosecutions and measurable prevention in a public sector where corruption remains stubbornly rooted.