Corruption: How the 'big fish' get off the hook

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High-profile corruption cases often go unsolved because powerful government officials know how to cover their tracks, leaving investigators with little evidence to pursue them.

However, the potential solution lies in empowering lower-level officials to refuse to facilitate corrupt transactions and report suspicious activities to authorities.

By combining this approach with lifestyle audits, Anti-corruption agencies, including the Inspector General of Government (IGG), believe they can ably catch the “big fish” and dismantle syndicated corruption networks.

Retired High Court judge John Bosco Katutsi, the pioneer judge to head the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court, which he headed for four years (2008 to 2011), said it is hard to apprehend corrupt individuals commonly known as the ‘big fish’ because those with godfathers are not afraid to embezzle public funds.

Retired High Court judge John Bosco Katutsi. (File)

According to Katutsi, there is selective prosecution, where one group is prosecuted promptly, while others in similar circumstances are given a free pass, which tantamounts to discrimination. “Those with godfathers are not scared to dip their dirty hands into public coffers,” he said.

Katutsi noted that corruption is a systemic issue that starts from the top, adding that the corrupt have vast resources at their disposal to bribe officials to destroy evidence.

Katutsi noted that corruption in Ugandan society is a manifestation of wider governance failure.

“Corruption is like a bushfire and continues with little record of concrete action being undertaken, especially from the top political leadership, save for a volley of strong statements albeit empty of substance,” he said.

He also observed that since the corrupt have powerful protectors, impunity reigns. “The four years I spent at the helm of the Anti-Corruption Court, it was made clear to me that in Uganda, as far as corruption is concerned, impunity reigns and that the corrupt have strong godfathers. Almost everybody lives corruptly because of the system,” Katutsi said.

‘Big fish’ intimidate whistleblowers 

Beti Kamya, the IGG. (File)

Highlighting the challenges of tackling corruption involving high-ranking officials, which people mainly term as the “big fish”, the IGG, Beti Kamya, explained that corruption is often highly syndicated, with individuals involved colluding to cover up their tracks. “This makes it difficult to gather evidence.”

According to Kamya, the “big fish” typically give verbal orders, which are not documented, and the “small fish” that execute the orders become victims. To address the issue, Kamya said the “small fish” should insist on written instructions and signatures of their bosses before effecting any transaction.

Kamya acknowledged that it can be challenging for public servants to disobey orders from superiors, especially when faced with threats of dismissal.

However, she advised the “small fish” to prioritise their integrity and take risks if necessary. She also reminded them that the IGG's office ‘ombudsman’, is available to listen to public outcry and address mistreatment.

“It is hard to fire a public servant because they are highly protected If you are mistreated for refusing to sign money for your boss, come to the IG’s office and the ombudsman will listen to you,” the IGG promised, adding that you can also report to the inspectorate if you take lone to get a title from the land’s ministry.

Has lifestyle audit, asset declaration reduced graft?

In 2021, President Yoweri Museveni launched a lifestyle audit campaign as a tool in the fight against corruption in Uganda. On October 21, 2022, the Inspector General of Government (IGG), Beti Kamya, informed parliament that the National Lifestyle Audit legal framework had been finalised and was ready for discussion.

Under the lifestyle audit, the Inspectorate will compare an official’s declared earnings with their investments to see if they are consistent.

Despite leaders and civil servants declaring their income, assets, and liabilities every two and five years, respectively, the initiative has not yet yielded results.

When asked if anyone had been apprehended through the lifestyle audit, Kamya said, “Not yet, but we are close.” She added that while the spirit is willing, the capacity is limited.

Kamya explained that people who receive a salary from the legislative fund must declare their income, assets, and liabilities, including all bank accounts, commercial interests, bonds, houses, businesses, and other assets.

“Lifestyle audit provision exists in law, but the 2021 launch aimed to raise its profile. The law requires leaders and public servants to declare their assets, income and liabilities,” she said.

She noted that although it’s not technically called a Lifestyle Audit, the law requires declaration of assets, and failure to declare or under/over-declaring is a breach.

New strategy

Kamya also said that the inspectorate is adopting a bottom-up approach by tracking suspicious financial flows starting with low-level public servants and moving up the chain to top government officials.

The IGG said the strategy aims to expose corruption networks by following financial trails that she said often begin with junior staff and lead to powerful officials.

“We are following the money from the smallest public servant to the highest office,” Kamya said, outlining a fresh strategy aimed at exposing corruption networks within government.

According to the IGG, junior officers typically execute orders from senior officials, but when accountability is demanded, the superiors evade scrutiny, making it difficult to trace corruption to the top.

Conviction

Over 115 civil servants and leaders have been convicted over failure to declare their assets, income, and liabilities since 2022 to date. The Leadership Code Tribunal fined the civil servants and leaders ranging from sh600,000 to sh4m, and in extreme cases, some were demoted and dismissed from their jobs.

However, over 185 public servants and leaders are still facing prosecution for failure to declare and under-declaration of wealth before the Tribunal.

The staff, among others, are from Uganda Revenue Authority, Uganda Prison Services, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Bank of Uganda, Mulago National Referral Hospital, Uganda National Cultural Centre, Uganda National Oil Company, Uganda National Examinations Board and Uganda Blood Transfusion Service.

The year 2024 had the highest number of public officials convicted, with 52 cases, followed by 2023 with 43 convictions, and 2022 with 20 convictions.

To keep the heat on the corrupt, the Chief Justice, Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, in March this year urged the IGG to probe the source of assets belonging to wealthy individuals.

Is there Political will?

Marlon Agaba, the Executive Director at the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda, said the ‘big fish’ are not directly engaged in corruption because they use proxies to do the dirty work, leaving no paper trail.

Besides, Abaga said most of the ‘big fish’ are well-connected politically, and can therefore circumvent legal processes. “They also have money to influence judicial processes.”

Agaba expressed concern over limited political will to fight the “big fish.” He noted that Uganda does not have a good record of convicting politicians like legislators and ministers in corruption cases, despite several of them being implicated.

Since 1986, Agaba said many leaders have been implicated in scandals like valley dams, junk helicopters, and ghost civil servants, but none of them has been prosecuted and convicted.

Agaba called on anti-corruption agencies to investigate the assets of the ‘big fish’ and charge them with illicit enrichment if their assets do not match their known income sources.

Sarah Bireete, the executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance. (File)

Sarah Bireete, the executive director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance, noted that the IGG’s approach to fighting corruption focuses on “small fish” instead of tackling systemic issues.

According to Bireete, the law should not discriminate, and efforts to fight corruption should target the crime, not individuals.



The Executive Director of Transparency International, Peter Wandera, said the strategy being adopted by the IGG is quite challenging because she may not have sufficient evidence to prosecute.

He noted that most “small fish” are loyal and often willing to go to jail, knowing that they will eventually be released and still benefit from the stolen resources.

To effectively address corruption scandals involving high-profile individuals, Wandera said a multi-faceted approach is necessary to encourage reporting and enhance transparency.