Security minister Jim Muhwezi blames rampant corruption in Uganda on witnesses
Muhwezi’s remarks were in response to questions raised by MPs on Presidential Affairs Committee, who wondered why corruption continues to increase despite the several anti-corruption agencies that have been created by President Museveni, under State House
Jim Muhwezi, the Minister of Security has blamed the rampant corruption in Uganda on the refusal by witnesses to testify in court against corrupt suspects, saying many people only lament about the corruption but refuse to report and give evidence which could help fight corruption in Uganda.
According to Muhwezi government has fought corruption going by the many institutions that are in place, since there are so many and they are all working.
“The only problem is that the vice is rampant and wide spread. During investigations, we face a problem when people report about corruption but they don’t want to testify in court, so it becomes a problem,” said Muhwezi.
Muhwezi’s remarks were in response to questions raised by MPs on Presidential Affairs Committee, who wondered why corruption continues to increase despite the several anti-corruption agencies that have been created by President Museveni, under State House.
Muhwezi had led the team from State House and Security agencies to present the 2024/25 national budget framework paper.
“But otherwise, there is also a problem, people say like we are all saying, and when you say, come and tell me and let us go and arrest they say, let this not be from me there is corruption let it not be from me. This corruption isn’t by public officers, as you know even in our private engagements with society, people are corrupt. You give them work, they steal. So there is a vice, it is a disease, it needs to be fought broadly,” said Muhwezi.
Meanwhile Rose Obigah the Terego District Woman Representative asked officials from State House to stop massaging corruption, saying that if it requires Uganda to adopt punitive punishments like killing people found guilty of corruption through the firing squad, then that should be adopted.
“I need punitive action on corruption, if we are just going to continue massaging corruption, I am telling you, we are just going to continue facing embarrassment. There is too much corruption, what can we do together? We need something punitive, no more talking even if it meant firing squad, I think I will go for that. It is too much, it is bothering us day and night,” said Obigah.
On Transparency International’s 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Uganda scored 26 on a scale from 0 (“highly corrupt”) to 100 (“very clean”). When ranked by score, Uganda ranked 142nd among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked last is perceived to have the most corrupt public sector
