In a January 2010 WikiLeaks cable, Jerry Lanier, then the U.S. ambassador to Uganda, flagged the mounting frustration among Uganda’s international donors with the country’s endless cycle of corruption and impunity. “Uganda’s failure to prosecute corrupt government officials is rapidly eroding donor confidence and local support for President [Yoweri] Museveni,” Lanier wrote. The cable was aptly titled, “Uganda’s All You Can Eat Corruption Buffet.”
Two years later, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the European Union and Norway suspended aid to Uganda when yet another scandal revealed the theft of roughly $12.7 million from the prime minister’s office. The funds were meant to help alleviate poverty in some of Uganda’s most undeveloped and conflict-ridden regions. Under pressure, the money was eventually returned. Media intrigue turned to who might face criminal charges.
But the cynics who said this case would be no different from the many previous corruption scandals were right again. A principal accountant from the prime minister’s office was convicted. The government heralded the conviction as a sign of its commitment to rooting out corruption. But no one higher up was held to account.
Over the past decade, international donors have pumped billions of dollars of aid into Uganda, a close ally of the United States in counterterrorism operations in East Africa and a key troop contributor to African Union efforts in Somalia. But despite increased pressure on the government to address corruption, the donor community’s own weaknesses — self-interest, inconsistencies and poor coordination — have contributed to a failure to protect donor aid from graft. Foreign aid has slowed or halted at various times in response to high-profile corruption scandals, but each time it has resumed after largely cosmetic reforms.
A new Human Rights Watch report written in collaboration with Yale Law School’s Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic describes how and why Uganda’s highest-ranking members of government elude prosecution for graft of public funds. We analyzed the government’s failure to close legal loopholes or to ensure that laws are not used to insulate political appointees from accountability. We also found that the lack of political will has crippled Uganda’s anti-corruption institutions, undermining their efforts through political interference, harassment and threats.
Despite periodic reforms, Uganda’s leaders deliberately keep key anti-corruption institutions enfeebled. The Inspectorate of Government, which investigates and prosecutes public corruption, was left without independent prosecutorial authority for years because the president failed to appoint anyone to a key leadership position. Under significant pressure from international donors, the vacancy was finally filled in August, but there is no guarantee it won’t happen again.
Lamenting the impunity of so-called untouchables, a prosecutor told us: “Come rain, come shine, they’re never going to court, not while there’s somebody close to them in power. That’s because of the politics involved.” Political actors direct prosecutors to pursue certain cases and throw others out. When instructions or bribes don’t work, their compliance is sometimes secured by threats to their personal safety.
Ugandan activists are working to highlight the corruption’s toll. Wearing black each Monday, they hand out leaflets to educate the public about key issues. The government’s response has been harassment. Many Monday mornings I get an email that yet another activist has been arrested. Twenty-eight have been arrested this year for peacefully handing out information. Some have been charged with inciting violence and unlawful assembly.
Given Uganda’s political patronage system and President Museveni’s 27-year-long stay in power, it is highly unlikely that anything other than the prosecution of the highest-ranking responsible officials will fundamentally alter the deep-rooted patterns of graft and resultant wealth accumulation of certain elites. Without specific donor pressure, the injustices of Uganda’s corruption problem will endure and donors will find themselves watching the all-you-can-eat buffet over and over again.
Maria Burnett is senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.
