By Mulengera Reporters
Uganda’s fight against corruption is entrusted into the hands of several institutions prominent among which is Beti Kamya’s Inspectorate of Government (IG) and the Leadership Code Tribunal (LCT), which is mandated to punish those who breach provisions of the Leadership Code Act by refusing to declare their assets and liabilities.
This is mandatory for all holders of public offices and the declarations have to be made annually to the office of the IGG. Yet the mandate of the five members making up the LCT is running out on 24th July this very year and the donor community is fearful that the mafia actors inside government are once again going to get their way-engaging in acts of corruption, including refusal to declare assets and liabilities, without anything being done to them.
The law requires that the LCT members serve for a term of five years which can be renewed once. This is all provided for in Section 19(e) (3) of the Leadership Code Act. The same section requires that re-appointment or new postings be made at least three months prior to the expiry of the current term.
This means that the Department of Ethics & Integrity (which is under President’s Office) had to have worked out all the details and communicated to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) about the impending vacuum at LCT at the beginning of this year.
The procedure is that the Minister of Ethics & Integrity (Rose Lilly Akello) determines the suitability and reappointment eligibility of the incumbent LCT members and communicates to JSC either recommending reappointment or existence of the vacancies, in case she finds the incumbents ineligible.
The JSC then looks through the same (are there any professional misconduct-related complaints etc?) and accordingly advise the President and this has to be done in writing. Like is the case with the Judges and other Judicial Officers, the President can agree with the advice of JSC, alter what they are proposing or totally disregard them.
In the instant case, Hon Rose Lilly Akello did her work on good time and on 11th February wrote to the JSC Chairperson notifying him about the eligibility and interest of the current LCT members, Chairperson Rose Karugonjo and Vice Chairperson Asuman Kiyingi for reappointment for another 5 years.
Rose Lilly Akello made it clear she had been satisfied with the performance of the five pioneer LCT members (who include Karugonjo, Kiyingi, Dr. Joyce Nalunga Birimumaaso, Didas Bakunzi Mufasha and Jane Okellowange) and unequivocally recommended them for reappointment.
“[They] have carried out their work diligently as I have been noting from our quarterly meetings of the Inter-Agency Forum which I chair, and from their Annual Reports,” Minister Rose Lilly Akello writes in her 11th February letter that was copied to AG Kiwanuka Kiryowa, Justice Minister Norbert Mao, Public Service Minister Muruli Mukasa and the Ethics & Integrity PS Dunstan Balaba.
She went on to explain how the five LCT members had accomplished and concluded many cases or matters in the preceding four years. These include 7 in the FY2021/2022, 27 in 2022/2023, 71 in 2023/2024 and 27 cases in the FY2024/2025.
“I’m satisfied that the Tribunal has diligently carried out its functions and adjudicated the cases expeditiously hence enforcing the Leadership Code of Conduct. I therefore recommend that the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and the three members all be reappointed for another term. A copy of the Tribunal Report for the five-year term is [hereby] attached.”
She also credited the Roselyn Segawa Karugonjo-led Tribunal for developing (a) the Leadership Code (Practice & Procedure) Rules; (b) the Leadership Code Tribunal Protocol on Adjudication; (c) LCT Adjudication Compendium (Court Users) Guidelines; (d) the five-year Strategic Plan (2020/2021-2024/2025) and finally (e) the Operational Manuals including an anti-corruption strategy.
JSC REFUSES TO ACT: However, fearing to offend powerful actors and potential kingmakers who don’t want Uganda’s fight against corruption to ever be effective (because they profit from such inefficiency), the JSC leadership hasn’t given the matter of processing LCT members’ reappointment process the prioritization it deserves.
And that is how time has run out to the extent that as of today, barely 10 days to the end of the current members’ term, the fate of the LCT remains uncertain. On 24th July, the current members will have to ease out because there will be no basis for them to continue being in office.
Yet there is simply not enough time for their replacements to be recruited in the very exhaustive tripartite arrangement which has to involve the JSC, the President and Parliament. This simply means that in the absence of a properly-constituted Tribunal many holders of public office can engage in wrongful acts or omissions and keep getting away with it.
As the Constitutional Court declared in the Ken Lukyamuzi petition, there are significant aspects of the Leadership Code Act and other anti-graft laws that can only be enforced if the LCT is properly constituted.
The Lukyamuzi removal from Parliament, which was based on absence of his refusal assets & liabilities declaration report to the IGG, was declared unconstitutional (and a lot of money was paid to him in damages) simply because the LCT wasn’t in place at the time of his sanctioning.
In the case of Sam Kutesa and others, the accused persons shielded themselves against criminal prosecution simply because the IG, which was prosecuting them, wasn’t properly constituted as at that time. This state of affairs appalled Uganda’s donors and development partners who were increasingly becoming disoriented because of Uganda’s failure to make clear progress in the war against corruption.
They began putting pressure on the GoU which resulted into the Constitutional amendments which resulted into the LCT getting established. Then, under pressure of the same donors, the Leadership Code Act was enacted in 2017 paving way for the establishment of the LCT in 2020. This comprises of the five members whose tenure is expiring on 24th July.
Minister Mao has equally been under intense donor pressure who have been inquiring about JSC’s inability to realize the need to prioritize processes leading up to the reappointment of LCT members. Mao recently confronted the new JSC Chairman Dr. Douglas K Singiza about the same and his explanation was that they are still new at the Kingdom Kampala-based Commission.
He explained to him that they had opted to prioritize the recruitment of the Principal Judge and Chief Registrar for the Judiciary, which are currently being occupied by officers serving in acting capacity. These very important Judiciary positions became vacant following the elevation of Dr. Flavian Zeijah to the position of Deputy Chief Justice and Sarah Siu Langa to the position of High Court Judge. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
