The Inspector General of Government (IGG) Raphael Baku yesterday denied suggestions that incompetence in his office is frustrating the fight against corruption.
To the contrary, he said rampant corruption shows failure on part of the entire government system in Uganda and not just one institution, the IGG which he heads.
While meeting EU partners at State House last month, the President implied that lack of officials with impeccable integrity at the inspectorate was hampering the fight against graft and also his efforts to name a substantive IGG.
Museveni’s remark was construed by the public to be a veiled indictment on Baku whose tenure has attracted more public condemnations than kudos. Speaking at a press conference at government Media Centre yesterday, Baku admitted his office could be having weaknesses but insisted that any failures seen should be blamed on the entire government system and not him alone.
He was answering a question put to him to explain whether he was feeling personally guilty for letting down the war against corruption.
“As IGG I can tell you we have achieved much in the last two years than at any one time in the history of the institution especially in areas of prosecution but we don’t work alone. Other agencies of government are obliged,” Baku said.
He said in the past two years, more corrupt officials have been prosecuted, jailed or dismissed and more stolen money recovered from the corrupt than ever before since the office was created.
In 2011, Baku revealed, of the 37 cases initiated by his office, 29 were prosecuted successfully. In 2010; 30 were initiated and 17 were won, he bragged before contrasting that with 2009 (before he took charge) when only one case out of the 11 initiated cases was won by the inspectorate.
Asked about the extent to which he was demoralized by president Museveni’s recent revelations as to why he hadn’t appointed a substantive IGG, Baku said: “the president didn’t indict me because I have now achieved the qualifications for IGG post.”
He added that article 223(5) of the constitution envisages an IGG of “high caliber which I’m already.” He went on say that where things haven’t gone right in Uganda’s fight against graft, he shouldn’t be blamed “because other offices are there put in place by government to fight corruption for instance the DPP. So if we have, then we have all failed collectively.”
He said engaging private prosecutors is another option government hasn’t yet engaged enough in the fight against corruption. In a bid to prove graft war is beyond constraints alleged to be in his office, Baku explained that the anti-corruption court division will soon be overwhelmed by case backlog saying the IGG alone has 165 cases before this same court.
Of these, 145 are original cases and the 20 are appeal cases. This doesn’t include cases the DPP continues to separately prosecute through the same court.
Baku said this issue of impending backlog will derail the fight against corruption adding that when that happens his office shouldn’t be blamed because it’s a bigger problem.
KUTESA NOT FREE YET
Saying the Thursday April 5 constitutional court ruling didn’t go into merits of the Chogm case, the IGG revealed that Sam Kutesa, John Nasasira and Mwesigwa Rukutana aren’t yet free.
He said a total of 165 cases, including Kutesa’s, have been surrendered by his office to the DPP for further prosecution. This arrangement is meant to ensure the trio don’t hide behind the last week court ruling and go unprosecuted over the Chogm fraud. Under this arrangement several IGG lawyers have been taken up by the DPP to serve as prosecutors in Kutesa’s and other corruption cases.
“In cognizance of the need to comply with judicial decisions as an aspect of the rule of law and good governance to which theInspectorate is committed and which it is mandated by the constitution to promote, decided to request the Director of Public Prosecution takeover and continue with prosecution of all cases initiated by the IGG, currently pending in Courts of Law. The DPP has accordingly appointed the lawyers at the IGG as public prosecutors, in accordance with powers vested in him by the law to continue prosecuting those cases pending in Courts of Law,” Baku said in a two page statement.
The constitutional court decision among others declared that when the IGG is not fully constituted Baku cannot prosecute or cause prosecution under Article 230 of the constitution.
“The decision of the Court didn’t amount to an acquittal of the accused persons neither did it amount to their discharge or dismissal of the cases against them,” Baku defiantly said at yesterday’s news conference. Creating more trouble for the three ministers, the IGG also has already filed notice of appeal in the Supreme Court to quash the success the trio achieved last Thursday.
Journalists blasted Baku saying such appeals are proof of allegations that the inspectorate spends more money to chase after very little but the man from West Nile defended himself.
He said the appeal has high chances of succeeding “because of the obvious mistakes in the constitutional court” ruling in favor of the three ministers. He didn’t tell what these mistakes were but maintained that his appeal had high chances to succeed. Baku also said he was overworked being both the IGG and deputy.
Reminded that his contract as Deputy IGG was ending in one year, Baku said: “I have no problem with that I’m ready to go when time comes.” He also said lack of a substantive IGG hadn’t in any significant way hurt the office’s ability to succeed.
He said much as he may not have won all the cases so far, he was happy his activities have turned out to be “very preventive as intending thieves now know it’s risky.”
Quoting an unnamed report, Baku bragged to have recovered Shs900m the corrupt had stolen last year. He said as a result of the “preventive effect,” another Shs7bn had been saved from would-be thieving government officials.
He asked scribes to verify this info with parliament, in case they doubted his figures. After answering a few questions, Media Center boss Fred Opolot, who appeared desperate to restrict scribes’ questions, led Baku to his waiting car and sped off.
Opolot riled journalists when he tried to down play the effect of the comments Museveni recently made to EU partners to the effect that lack of credible personalities had delayed him from naming substantive IGG.
Opolot even tried to prevent Baku from answering this question but the man from West Nile freely gave his views saying he wasn’t about to be demoralised by such comments.