By Asuman Kiyingi (Former Minister)
Last week, Ugandan media reported two related but contradictory executive policy pursuits that merit deep reflection. On one hand, the Inspector General of Government (IGG) issued a bold 14-day ultimatum to 202 officials to refund Shs 2.3 billion in misappropriated funds. This was a commendable spark of administrative resolve, sending a clear message: public funds are not personal wallets. The images of the undeclared UGX 1.6 billion Kitende apartments—belonging to a former UNRA employee and recently seized by the IGG—added significant weight to this recovery push.
On the other hand, reports surfaced that the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) has frozen the bank accounts of several high-profile Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), including the Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies (GLISS). As Godber Tumushabe rightly pointed out, there is an absurdity in this fixation on NGOs, where the state alleges “suspicious transactions” without providing evidence. Other affected organizations have similarly issued statements protesting these measures.
While the IGG’s move is a vital step toward a culture of accountability, it must not be viewed in isolation from the troubling executive overreach. The Executive appears to be empowering the IGG to chase millions while simultaneously dismantling the independent architecture necessary to confront the systemic grand corruption that drains trillions.
We must confront the sobering mathematical reality: Shs 2.3 billion is a mere 0.023% of the Shs 10 trillion that Uganda loses annually to graft. To bridge this staggering gap, the nation needs more than internal audits; it requires a robust ecosystem of “social auditing” led by CSOs. Yet, rather than being protected, these watchdogs are being systematically neutralized.
This domestic squeeze is now colliding with a volatile international landscape. The United States, long a primary development partner, has fundamentally reoriented its Africa policy. Under the current “America First” doctrine, the traditional emphasis on “ideological” democracy-building has been replaced by “Trade-Not-Aid” commercial diplomacy. While some in government may welcome the reduction in “public moralizing,” this shift carries a hidden sting: The U.S. is increasingly replacing broad aid packages with targeted, blunt instruments of accountability.
In 2024 and 2025, we saw this manifest through unprecedented sanctions against high-ranking officials, including the Speaker of Parliament and several Cabinet Ministers, citing “significant corruption.” By stifling local oversight, the Executive is inadvertently inviting this external “long-arm” jurisdiction. When domestic avenues for accountability—like the hounded CSOs—are closed, the vacuum is filled by international travel bans and asset freezes that target the personal freedoms and global assets of key political stakeholders.
The most recent escalation in this campaign is the NGO Funding Bill of 2026. This legislation is not all about “transparency,” as its proponents claim; it is a gatekeeping mechanism designed to starve the sector of the resources it needs to function. By mandating the immediate declaration of foreign funds and empowering the state to cap international support, the bill seeks to turn independent watchdogs into domesticated lapdogs.
In the final analysis, the integrity of Uganda’s governance must be measured by the depth of trust citizens have in the machinery of the state. The Executive cannot claim to be at war with graft while systematically disabling the independent mechanisms of transparency and ignoring the trillion-shilling elephant in the room. True reform requires a fundamental shift: we must support the IGG’s efforts to ensure every shilling is accounted for, but we must also stop suffocating NGOs through arbitrary FIA freezes and this restrictive 2026 legislation.
International development partners must also recalibrate; as the U.S. moves toward a transactional relationship, Uganda must realize that “Commercial Diplomacy” will only thrive in an environment of legal certainty—the very environment a vibrant civil society provides. Until the cost of corruption—enforced by an unfettered IGG, a protected civil society, and a vocal public—outweighs its rewards, Uganda’s governance metrics will remain stubbornly red. The writer is a senior advocate and former minister. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
