Some government employees found guilty of corruption or related charges have continued to regularly draw salaries from the national treasury long after they have been convicted by the Anti-Corruption Court, a research reveals.
The joint research by Anti-Corruption
Coalition Uganda (ACCU) and Strengthening Uganda’s Anti-Corruption and
Accountability Regime (SUGAR) indicates that more than 30 government
officials, who were convicted of corruption, continued to receive full
salary throughout their incarceration, something that contravenes the
law.
According to the Ugandan law, corruption means abuse of
public office for private gain and includes but is not limited to
embezzlement, bribery, nepotism, influence peddling, theft of public
funds or assets, fraud, forgery, causing financial or property loss and
false accounting in public affairs.
Once convicted of corruption
charges, section 46 of the Anti-Corruption Act demands that a convict be
disqualified from holding a public office for 10 years.
But
according to the research, some convicts were receiving salaries while
in jail and continued to do so even after serving their sentences.
Presenting
part of the research in Kampala on Tuesday, ACCU research and advocacy
officer Richard Okuku cited 31 names of convicts, some sentenced as way
back as 2010, whose names remained on the public service payroll until
they officially retired with full benefits.
Concern
Many
of those convicted include security personnel, magistrates,
accountants, doctors, teachers, engineers and officials at the local
government levels (list withheld)
“We believe that there could be
some collusion going on in the various ministries, departments and
agencies of government, and we also believe this is a deep rooted
problem - much bigger than we have managed to uncover,” Mr Okuku said.
He added: “How else can you explain somebody who is absent from work and yet keeps receiving salary every single month without anybody raising the red flag? Going forward, we believe naming and shaming is appropriate. And we will never tire of exposing this kind of corruption.”
Responding to the research findings, the assistant
commissioner for human resource management at the Ministry of Public
Service, Mr Andrew Mujungu, noted that the weakness lies in supervision
by the department heads.
“After two weeks out of office or work
station, it should be evident that something is amiss and those
responsible should be able find out what is going on,” he said.
Among those cited in the report as drawing salary is Mr Samson Bagonza, who was convicted for abuse of office and causing financial loss and sentenced to three years in jail. He also named Mr Samuel Mandu, who was convicted for causing financial loss. For Mr Bagonza’s case, the matter was overturned on appeal and so he was reinstated on the payroll. For Mr Mandu he was reinstated on payroll after conviction, something Mr Mujungu said he will investigate further.
The
manager of prosecution at the Inspectorate of Government, Ms Brenda
Kimbugwe Mawanda, said it is common practice for convicted public
servants to find their way back onto the payroll before finishing their
jail terms.
She said the law provides that once a person is convicted
on corruption charges, the name should immediately be deleted from the
payroll and only reinstated when the conviction is overturned on appeal
Once convicted of corruption charges, Section 46 of the Anti-Corruption Act demands that a convict be disqualified from holding a public office for 10 years
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