President Museveni has appointed High Court Judge Aisha Naluzze Batala as Uganda’s new Inspector General of Government (IGG), replacing Beti Olive Namisango Kamya, whose term expired last month.
Justice Naluzze, who currently serves in the Land Division of the High Court, becomes the country’s new anti-corruption chief pending parliamentary approval.
The appointment of the woman, who was appointed a High Court judge in 2023, restores leadership to the watchdog office, which had been vacant since Betty Kamya’s four-year tenure-and that of her deputies-expired on September 22.
Born in 1977, Justice Batala has been appointed to the top graft-fighting role after President Museveni exercised his constitutional powers, presidential assistant for press and mobilisation Faruk Kirunda confirmed Tuesday evening.
Kirunda also said the president retained Kamya’s two former deputies, Dr Patricia Achan Okiria and Anne Twinomugisha Muhairwe, to continue serving in their positions.
‘The names of the appointees have been forwarded to Parliament for vetting,’ he said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The Office of the Inspector General of Government (IGG) is a constitutionally established body mandated to promote good governance and fight corruption in public office.
It had been operating without substantive leadership since Kamya’s contract ended, raising concerns about its effectiveness in tackling graft.
Kamya, a former Kampala minister and presidential candidate, was appointed in 2021 and had pledged to ‘name and shame’ corrupt officials.
Her tenure drew both praise for her public advocacy and criticism over limited prosecutions in high-profile corruption cases.
Justice Batala’s appointment comes at a time when Uganda faces persistent public pressure to rein in misuse of public funds and enforce accountability across government agencies.
Since September22, the office of the IG was virtually toothless and was being administratively run by a Permanent Secretary.
Parliament is expected to vet the nominees in the coming days before Justice Batala formally assumes office.