The battle for the hearts and minds of the Ugandan public by the State House Anti-corruption Unit and the Inspectorate of Government. Why the IGG is losing.
In Uganda, there is an on going battle for the hearts and minds of the Ugandan public by the State House Anti-corruption Unit and the Inspectorate of Government. Unfortunately, the IGG is losing the battle which incidentally it should be winning in a knock out.
In our earlier work, we explained the importance of public support and reverence to the Independence of oversight agencies such as anti corruption agencies and the judiciary. Politicians value popularity and everything they do is meant to ensure that they retain political power. Therefore, if you have public support, politicians will kneel at your feet seeking your favor. For example, you would think that Republicans in the United States would be fed up of Trump and his antics but because he has the support of the GOP base, they are all clamoring for his favour even though they secretly deplore him.
Public support is a valuable commodity to both branches of government and public agencies. In persuit of public support, public agencies and private companies pour billions of shillings in public relations compaigns to earn the good will of the public. Strong public support equals bigger budgets, less political interference and political cover for intrusive decisions. Strong public support can make a program or a public agency basically untouchable by the politicians however much the politicians deplore it. For example, in the US, Republicans deplore Obama care but because of public support of the program, it has survived multiple supreme Court challenges and various repeal attempts though Republicans controlled both house of Congress and the presidency.
In Uganda, there is an on going battle for the hearts and minds of the Ugandan public by the State House Anti-corruption Unit and the Inspectorate of Government. Unfortunately, the IGG is losing the battle which incidentally it should be winning in a knock out. Colonel Nakakema plays a good game and she has successed in convincing both the president and the public that she is the solution to corruption in Uganda. She has mastered the trick of being seen to be working regardless of whether she is actually making a difference or not. She lags behind the Inspectorate of Government in all key performance indicators:
The state house anti corruption unit investigates ten times less cases than the Inspectorate of Government;
The Inspectorate of Government prosecutes ten timee more cases of corruption than the state house anti corruption unit;
The IG respects the rights of suspects and does not make arbitrary arrests;
The IG recovers ten times more than money than the state house anti corruption unit;
The Inspectorate of Government saves ten times the public funds from plunder than the state house anti corruption unit.
In spite of the fact that the Inspectorate of Government beats the state house anti corruption unit in every measurable metric, for some reason the public believes in the unit more than the IG. Even the president is convinced that the state house anti corruption unit is more effective than the IG. In the circumstances, I personally, think that if the Inspectorate of Government was not mandated by the Constitution and implemented due to pressure from donors, there are many people hoping for its demise. Given that it knocks out the state house anti corruption unit on every measurable performance indicator, then why is the public perception not in its favor.
For some reason the IG is not selling it’s accomplishments to the public, it is not being seen to be working. The press is always running stories of arrests by Colonel Nakalema, raids of public offices by her and stories of her efforts to stop corruption. Due to this publicity the public sees her in action, they see her efforts to combat corruption. They know nothing about what it takes to succeed in court, they know nothing of the labours of building a case or the difficulties of asset tracing and recovery. The public knows what it sees and what is shown. The IG can build their cases, trace and recovery illicitly acquired wealth but as long as the public does not see it being done, to them, it may as well not have ever happened.
Just by showing the public the little that the state house anti corruption unit does, the unit has established itself as the premier anti corruption agency in Uganda. When you bring your complaint to Nakalema, you do not need wait for years to see action, in a few days she will raid the office complained about and arrest the suspects. On the other hand, the IG will take a year investigating and later possibly arrest the suspects and even charge them in court but the complainant and the public might even never become aware. Just like that, the IG has done what is required and in the proper way but the tactics of the state house anti corruption unit will always win the day because they shown citizens that action is being taken and their complaints are being addressed. For this simple reason, the state house anti Corruption unit has won the hearts and minds of Ugandans. I hope by the time the IG decides to wake up, its reputation is still redeemable.
