KAMPALA, UGANDA – The Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, has warned that the new IGG, Justice Aisha Naluzze, can only fight corruption effectively if her office operates independently from the government’s executive branch.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!His argument comes in the wake of Justice Naluzze’s vetting by the Parliamentary Appointments Committee on Friday, a crucial step before she and her team assume their roles.
In a candid interview with the media, Hon. Ssenyonyi asserted that all predecessors of the new IGG failed primarily due to political interference.
He claimed that the fight against high-level corruption has been consistently undermined by orders from above, alleging that investigators are told to back off when targeting powerful corrupt individuals.
“If they attempt to go after some particular people and their heads don’t want them touched, they will tell them to back off. That’s what has been happening and it will still happen,” Ssenyonyi stated.
Ssenyonyi argued that the only remedy for corruption is building fully independent institutions, not just appointing qualified individuals, adding that the current government has run down all such institutions.
He expanded his critique beyond the Office of the IGG, pointing to a systemic decay across key arms of the state and describing a Parliament that has sacrificed its independence to the Executive.
“We have the Parliament which is the third arm of the government, supposed to be independent, but the Speaker tells you if the President tells him/her to jump, he will not ask how high, he will just jump,” Ssenyonyi claimed.
The Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition also raised serious concerns about the judiciary, alleging that judicial officers often face intimidation and receive phone calls instructing them on how to rule, particularly in sensitive cases like bail applications.
Ssenyonyi’s remarks follow a vetting process where the newly appointed Inspector General of Government (IGG), Justice Aisha Naluzze, faced the Parliamentary Appointments Committee on Friday.
The session, chaired by the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, also saw the proposed deputies, Ms. Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe and Dr. Patricia Acan Okiria, vetted alongside Mr. Badru Lubega Wagwa and Mr. Jimmy Okello, as members of the Judicial Service Commission.
Speaking to the press after the vetting process, Justice Aisha Naluzze confirmed that her team is prepared to fulfill its tasks, describing them as a sizable, energetic, and committed group.
She assured the public that officials who have stolen billions of shillings meant for various public programs over the years will be apprehended and charged accordingly.
The Appointments Committee of Parliament will now submit its recommendations to the President for further action.
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