A total of 110 local government staff are facing disciplinary actions following a countrywide anti-corruption crackdown led by Minister for Local Government Mr Balaam Barugahara and junior Minister Ms Justine Nameere.
The campaign has uncovered alleged ghost workers and pupils in government schools, misuse of public funds, procurement irregularities, absenteeism and poorly implemented government projects.
The ministers have so far reached areas including Moyo, Maracha, Pakwach, Mbale, Namisindwa, Bulambuli, Isingiro, Sembabule, Mitooma, Mbarara, Fort Portal and Masaka districts among others.
In an exclusive interview with this publication on Sunday, Mr Balaam said the crackdown has so far led to the arrest of several local government officials, technical officers, departmental and frontline staff, while others are on the run.
‘We currently have 110 local government staff cases ongoing, but the audit and investigation process needs additional manpower to move faster, with over 19 staff sent to anti-corruption court,’ he said.
Mr Balaam said the inspections have uncovered serious accountability concerns involving alleged ghost beneficiaries, misuse of public funds, health facilities, schools and infrastructure projects.
According to him, the campaign is not limited to exposing wrongdoing but is designed to ensure that cases are documented, investigated and subjected to the appropriate administrative or legal process.
‘The purpose of our inspections is not simply to expose wrongdoing. It is to identify leakages, stop them, protect public resources and ensure that citizens receive the services for which the government provides money.
Among the cases cited by the minister is the discovery of suspected ghost-enrolled nurses at Busiu Health Centre IV in Mbale District. He said that in only two health facilities visited in the district, inspectors identified 10 suspected ghost staff.
In Namisindwa, inspectors found a head teacher who allegedly added 342 ghost pupils to school records, while another secondary school was found operating with more than 600 students without adequate toilets despite receiving government funding.
‘In Sembabule, we arrested government officials who stole Shs6 billion from locals, promising them titles and yet the president had committed to making the titles free of charge using the World Bank facility,’ he stated.
‘In Mitooma, we discovered the road fund of 2025/2026 was swindled with no work done. They built a slaughterhouse of Shs 47 m, but the actual value at Shs7m.’
Mr Balaam said the consequences of corruption at the local government level go beyond financial losses because they directly affect the delivery of essential services.
He attributed the problem to greed, weak supervision, manipulation of procurement and recruitment systems, political interference, poor record management and weak accountability.
The minister said the inspections would continue, with the government returning to districts to establish whether earlier recommendations had been implemented.
Opposition weighs in
However, the campaign has attracted criticism from opposition politicians and accountability experts, who argue that Uganda already has constitutional and statutory institutions mandated to investigate and prosecute corruption.
Speaking to this publication on Monday, August 17, Shadow Auditor General, Mr Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola, argued that the tours could expose failures within the government without necessarily producing sustainable prosecutions.
‘The tours will not yield any fruit but rather expose the failure of the sitting government. Is the Ministry of Local Government new in Uganda? What has been the role of previous ministers? Those ministers have attempted to take over the role of opposition in a shabby, unnatural and inorganic manner,’ he stated.
Mr Nalukoola warned that ministers could run into legal problems if investigations and evidence are mishandled, particularly where suspects are arrested without proper procedures.
‘This may result in filing cases against the government premised on false imprisonment, denial of a right to a fair trial and hearing, and failure on the part of ministers to observe due process; we do not need to come up with any new approach since the framers of the constitution put in place mechanisms.’
He called for existing institutions, particularly the Inspectorate of Government, to be properly facilitated to perform their constitutional functions, while stressing the importance of an independent Directorate of Public Prosecutions and Judiciary.
Similarly, socio-political commentator Mr Denis Yub cautioned against turning anti-corruption inspections into political interventions without ensuring that cases are properly investigated, prosecuted and concluded.
Mr Yub called for stronger internal audit systems, procurement controls, financial management and District Service Commissions, arguing that authorities should act on findings from the Auditor General and other oversight bodies.
He also raised concerns over delayed prosecutions and political interference, saying dramatic arrests and interdictions would have little impact if cases eventually collapse in court.
‘We have even seen the executive intervene in cases that are already before courts, including instances where accused officials are effectively forgiven or politically protected before the prosecution process is allowed to run its course,’ he said.
Corruption remains a major challenge to Uganda’s development and public service delivery, with the country losing an estimated Shs10 trillion annually through corruption and related leakages, according to figures cited by the Inspectorate of Government.