The Inspector General of Government Lady Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala has issued a stern warning to corrupt public officials saying the Inspectorate will prioritize prosecution as the main weapon in the fight against corruption. Speaking while marking 100 days in office, Batala said she took charge of the anti-corruption body with a clear mission to […]
The Inspector General of Government Lady Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala has issued a stern warning to corrupt public officials saying the Inspectorate will prioritize prosecution as the main weapon in the fight against corruption.
Speaking while marking 100 days in office, Batala said she took charge of the anti-corruption body with a clear mission to strengthen enforcement and deliver results.
“I assumed office fully aware of the responsibility entrusted to me under the constitutional mandate of the Inspectorate of Government. I set out a clear agenda aimed at combating corruption and maladministration in the public sector and strengthening the Inspectorate to be more effective, efficient, responsive and results driven,” she said.
Batala reminded public officials that the Inspectorate has wide powers under the Constitution to investigate corruption and abuse of office.
“The Inspectorate of Government is a quasi judicial institution with powers close to those of the courts including issuing warrants of arrest, search warrants, halting activities and freezing bank accounts or other activities where necessary,” she explained.
The IGG said she has set an ambitious target to boost the prosecution rate of corruption cases.
“I have set a clear target to increase the prosecution rate to at least 70 percent by the end of the financial year 2025/2026. This should be a warning to the public officials out there. If we get you our first action is to ensure that you are prosecuted,” Batala warned.
Batala revealed that the Inspectorate handled 1,516 complaints between July and December 2025, sanctioning 1,151 cases.
“During the period the Inspectorate investigated and concluded 308 corruption cases and 330 Ombudsman matters including 14 high profile corruption cases,” she said.
Addressing questions from journalists about the identities of officials implicated in high-profile and district corruption cases, one of the Inspectorate of Government officials Joram Kagezi said the institution would provide the details.
Kagezi apologized for not presenting the names during the briefing but assured the media that the information exists in the Inspectorate’s records.
“I want to apologize that we did not come with those names, but we have them in our records. There is a process of retrieving and verifying them before they can be released,” he said.
The official however confirmed that several public officials had already been arrested or interdicted in recent enforcement actions.
“We also have people whom we have arrested recently from various districts. As I mentioned earlier, there are district officials in Rubanda and those who have been interdicted from Kalungu District, including the Chief Administrative Officer, the District Engineer, the Chief Finance Officer and a few other senior officers of the district,” the official explained.
The Inspectorate added that the specific details of the cases and names of the officials would be availed once the necessary internal procedures are completed.
“But we do not have the particulars at the moment,” the official said.
In adddition, the anti-corruption watchdog also recovered more than UGX 2 billion stolen from government coffers.
“The Inspectorate recovered UGX 2,021,869,076 in misappropriated funds while UGX 844,122,884 was paid to public officials who had been denied or delayed payment of salaries, gratuity and pensions.” she added
Batala also revealed that surprise inspections at regional referral hospitals uncovered serious service delivery failures.
“These inspections resulted in three arrests and brought to light critical service delivery gaps including overcrowding, non functional health equipment, shortages of essential medicines and allegations of extortion by staff,” she said.
In just two months of enforcement actions, the Inspectorate ordered tough disciplinary measures against several public officers.
“12 public officers have been dismissed from service, four officers including a Chief Administrative Officer were interdicted, three officers were reprimanded and one officer was demoted to a lower rank,” Batala said.
The IGG also disclosed that the Inspectorate has issued 326 recovery orders worth Shs9.9 billion, though only Shs2.4 billion has been paid so far.
Batala has further called on public officials ahead of the upcoming wealth declaration exercise.
“I remind all public officers to prepare to declare their incomes, assets and liabilities from 1st to 30th April 2026. Those who fail to submit their declaration by 30th April 2026 will have their names submitted to the Leadership Code Tribunal for prosecution.”
Batala has also revealed that the Inspectorate is intensifying anti-corruption sensitization programs targeting young people as part of efforts to change public attitudes toward corruption.
Batala said the campaign focuses on mindset change among youth and communities because corruption often begins with values formed at home.
“So we are doing a lot of sensitization, a lot of mind change, mindset change for the youth. Since you say the corruption begins from home. So we are engaging with the youth and we are doing a lot with the sensitization in the communities,” Batala said.
She also addressed concerns about whether women face barriers when accessing justice at the Inspectorate, insisting that the institution treats all complainants equally.
“One of our core values at the Inspectorate of Government is that there should be equality between the men and the women. So when we are handling all our complainants, we do not discriminate whether you are male or female. So I believe women have the same access as the gentlemen,” she said.
When asked whether corruption is more prevalent among men or women, Batala said corruption should not be viewed along gender lines, although she jokingly suggested that women may increasingly be involved in corruption.
“I do not know how to answer that one. But corruption is corruption. It depends on the way someone perceives life. So I do not think there is one who is more corrupt than the other. Actually these days I believe women have become more corrupt than men,” she said.
Batala also confirmed that the Inspectorate is currently investigating the National Drug Authority (NDA) over alleged irregularities.
She explained that the investigation had already been ongoing before a recent controversy reported in the media.
“Before that issue you saw in the papers last week came up, we were already doing an investigation in the NDA. There is another investigation that was ongoing and then this one came up,” Batala said.
The IGG further revealed that the Inspectorate recently issued directives halting the inauguration of the NDA board chairperson pending investigations.
“Last week we issued directives to stop the inauguration of the board chairperson and we believe it did not happen unless there is information to the contrary. But by and large we are doing an investigation in the NDA institution,” she added.
Meanwhile, officials at the Inspectorate say the institution continues to face staffing challenges, particularly in specialized fields required to investigate complex corruption cases.
The Permanent Secretary at the Inspectorate explained that many investigations require experts such as engineers, surveyors and forensic auditors who are currently not part of the Inspectorate’s staffing structure.
“The Inspectorate deals with a number of cases that may need special skills because the cases that are investigated may involve having an engineer, a surveyor or a forensic auditor and those skills are not available right now,” the official said.
She added that government has provided limited funds to support recruitment but the institution is also strengthening collaboration with other agencies to fill the gaps.
“This year government gave us a token in terms of salaries so as to be able to recruit the foot soldiers, the Inspectorate officers. But we are continuing these efforts especially as far as the specialized skills are concerned,” she said.
According to the Inspectorate, corruption cases in Uganda are becoming more complex, sophisticated and sometimes linked to cross-border networks.
“Corruption is increasingly becoming sophisticated and syndicated in certain circumstances linked to cross-border networks. In some cases it is also normalized,” Batala said.
She noted that limited funding and an ageing vehicle fleet continue to constrain investigations across the country.
“Inadequate funding and an aging motor vehicle fleet further constrains our ability to conduct timely investigations, prosecutions and verifications across the country,” she explained.
