By Aggrey Baba
ICT and National Guidance Minister Justine Kasule Lumumba Thursday night tore into opposition’s Paul Mwiru (NUP) and Odonga Otto, accusing them and the general opposition of pretending to be innocent spectators in Uganda’s corruption crisis while Parliament, where they serve and have served, has some of the strongest constitutional powers to expose and fight against the vice.
Lumumba’s strongly worded response came after the two outspoken activists had spent much of the television discussion pouring cold water on the Minister for Local Government, Balaam Barugahara’s anti-corruption operations. Mwiru, the MP representing the people of Busoga’s Jinja East, dismissed the fight as a publicity stunt that would not produce meaningful results, while Otto argued that Balaam was merely hunting chicken thieves in districts instead of pursuing the powerful figures behind Uganda’s biggest corruption scandals.
Clearly unimpressed, Lumumba said the opposition can’t continue portraying itself as an outsider when it actively participates in approving government budgets and heads the very parliamentary committees responsible for demanding accountability from the Executive.
“Opposition can’t sit here and talk like they aren’t part of the system,” Lumumba shot back, further explained that every government ministry appears before Parliament to defend its spending and programmes, while the country’s key accountability committees are chaired by opposition MPs who have the mandate to summon government officials, investigate misuse of public funds and recommend action against wrongdoers.
Lumumba also rejected Otto’s claim that Balaam is wasting time chasing “chicken thieves,” insisting that local governments are where government programmes are implemented and where public money is either properly utilized or stolen.
She argued that exposing corruption at that level is not a diversion but an essential part of ensuring that taxpayers get value for money.
The vocal woman from Bugiri, further cited the Busega Expressway investigations as proof that government is not protecting high-level corruption, saying the corruption scandals surrounding the project were uncovered by government itself rather than the bragging opposition.
She added that Balaam’s campaign fits within the President’s [Y.K Museveni] Kisanja No Sleep directive, which requires public officials to work harder and ensure government programmes transform the lives of ordinary Ugandans (Omuntu wa wansi) instead of enriching corrupt individuals. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
