By Diana N. Kintu
Vice President Jessica Alupo urging leaders to ensure accountability operations are conducted fairly, lawfully and with integrity
Uganda’s fight against corruption must remain firm, but it should never come at the expense of constitutional rights and due process, Vice President Jessica Alupo has said, urging leaders to ensure accountability operations are conducted fairly, lawfully and with integrity.
Her message comes as government intensifies efforts to eliminate corruption in local governments, where misuse of public resources continues to undermine service delivery and erode public trust. Alupo said the campaign’s success will depend not only on exposing wrongdoing, but also on protecting the rule of law and the rights of every individual.
Representing President Yoweri Museveni at a high-level meeting of Local Government political and technical leaders convened by the Ministry of Local Government, the Vice President commended the Ministry’s anti-corruption campaign led by Minister Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi and Minister of State for Local Government Justine Nameere Nsubuga.
She praised the ministers’ inspections, follow-up actions and oversight efforts, saying,
“Their inspections, follow-ups, oversight and decisive interventions have sent a strong message to all leaders that the era of laxity, impunity and misuse of public resources must end, and it must end now.”
While reaffirming that corruption remains one of the greatest obstacles to Uganda’s socio-economic transformation, Alupo cautioned that accountability operations must always be conducted within the law.
She reminded leaders that “every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” warning against practices that expose individuals to public humiliation before due legal process has taken its course.
The Vice President said Local Governments remain the face of the State because their decisions directly influence the quality of education, healthcare, infrastructure and other essential public services delivered to citizens.
She urged political and technical leaders to strengthen transparency, supervision and financial accountability while taking prompt corrective action whenever gaps are identified, stressing that anti-corruption efforts must translate into better services rather than remain mere rhetoric.
Alupo also called on every district, city and municipality to leave the meeting with practical action plans capable of implementing the President’s directive and improving service delivery in their respective areas.
As government strengthens its anti-corruption campaign, the Vice President said lasting public confidence will depend not only on holding wrongdoers accountable, but also on ensuring justice is administered fairly and in accordance with the law. For citizens, the true measure of the campaign will not be the number of officials investigated, but whether it delivers better services, responsible leadership and renewed trust in public institutions.
Source: Ministry of Local Government, Republic of Uganda.