Corruption derives authority from political command structure – the cabinet 

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) caboodle of cronies who embezzle government money and grab property, practice nepotism and engage in bribery and influence peddling will ponder around and gather all the extenuations and quotes to defend their incorrigible dishonesty and eventually go away with it.

It is as though they have their own definition of corruption which is parallel to the universally defined one. According to Black Law dictionary, corruption is the act of doing something with an intent to give an advantage inconsistent with official duty and the rights of others.

The NRM government has unleashed upon us a plethora of flagrant criminality, sufficiently well-known and or subterranean, not to be repeated here. There are several academic lucubrations about their buccaneering leadership in universities across the world.

Unfortunately, the Ugandans for whom they owe a duty of representation, ignorantly fall for such extenuations, condemn a little and then move on to the wagon of the next trending sex or relationship topic. The appointing authority Mr Museveni—the commander of the cabinet, loves thieves so much that he keeps recycling and re-appointing them into different positions.

He has midwifed the vice and now it is a herculean task to eliminate it. You will realize that a drastic shakeup of the political command structure to eliminate corruption will instead send Gen Yoweri Museveni home in retirement or in exile. Corruption is the glue that holds this government together.

The people who went to the bush to deliver the country from thieves ended up installing themselves to embark on a maelstrom spree of corruption and miscellaneous large-scale thieving. No dishonest leadership has ever transformed a country.

The law is seen to work with alacrity against the oppressed who are accused of using our voices in speaking out against excesses of the government but the same becomes silent when leaders misuse and steal government property.

When we talk about this seemingly irreparable carousel of criminality and use English language to artistically describe them and their wicked vices, and the harm that they are causing to the country, they brand us abusive and immoral. They go ahead and say that we are misusing the computer to talk about their thieving and callous irresponsibility.

What kind of government is this? A kleptocracy. A corrupt and dishonest government characterized by greed. They are good at squandering government resources as if the country is not lumbering with debts and on the list of the poorest in the whole world.

Enabling corruption is when the president, instead of cleansing the thieves from the government which he leads, keeps re-appointing them to steal more. Corruption is a cancer that has eaten away at the fabric of our country, siphoning off resources that are meant to benefit every Ugandan, and leaving behind a trail of poverty, inequality, and injustice.

It is undoubtable that Mr Museveni has abdicated the responsibility and refused to take a tough stance against corruption and has instead embraced thieves. This only sends a message that stealing from the poor Ugandans is acceptable, and that there are no consequences for such criminality.

There is nothing that hurts me that no politician has resigned or been arrested for stealing the OPM iron sheets. Now they are all over cleaning their names from the mess, taking advantage of a sleeping police who are also waiting for orders from the snoring president.

Museveni, by choosing to protect the interests of the corrupt, rather than serve the needs of the people, betrays the social contract. Unless he wants us to prove that he is beholden to these corrupt officials for political support, or he is unpopular to take on entrenched interests within his own government. If the latter is true, then it proves why his army is cruel and cruelty sprouts from weakness and unpopularity.

The president himself and a caboodle of his close family members have been involved in gross corruption scandals over the years and therefore have a vested interest in protecting the kin and kith that are not only bound by consanguinity but also by corruption. By the way, corruption is also placing wrong people in sensitive positions. Moving around with envelopes is corruption. Patronage and co-optation is also corruption.

Whatever the reason, the consequences of this kind of criminality are evidently dire. The thieves have been allowed to operate with impunity, and has led to a breakdown in trust between citizens and government, eroding the legitimacy of the state and undermining its ability to provide basic services. It has created a culture of impunity, where the corrupt feel emboldened to engage in even more brazen acts of graft, knowing that they will not be held accountable.

Breaking this cycle of corruption shall require strong leadership and a commitment to rooting out graft at all levels of government. It shall require leaders who are willing to take a stand against those who would steal from the people, and who are committed to building a culture of transparency, accountability, and integrity. Only then can we begin to restore trust with the government, and build a better future for us all.

In the 37-years that Mr Museveni has been in power, his incompetence to eliminate corruption has made deafening noise.

The author is a lawyer and novelist currently exiled in Germany