Mr President, don’t aide army to keep ill-gotten wealth 

Do military officers have a choice to obey the Leadership Code Act or follow the directives and wishes of President Yoweri Museveni of not declaring their incomes, assets and liabilities to the Inspectorate of Government (IG) as required by law?

President Museveni has asked the IGG not to enforce the Leadership Code when it comes to specified army and security officers.

According to the Code, all Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officers of or above the rank of major and officers in charge of the payroll are supposed to declare their income, assets and liabilities from time to time and how they acquired or incurred them.

In a letter to the IGG dated April 24, 2023, President Museveni says the “the law must be in tandem with logic.”

Museveni further said: “The logic is that the identities and details of army personnel should be the monopoly of the Chief of Personnel and Administration (CPA). The wealth in terms of conduct of the personnel of the defence forces is monitored by a military wing of Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI)… counter intelligence gathers information about possible pollution of our own defence forces (enemy agents, political subversives, corrrupt people)”.

The president also wants a similar arrangement for police, Internal Security Organisation (ISO) and External Security Organisation (ESO).

The president’s directive conflicts with the Constitution and many laws aimed at fighting corruption among public officers.

According to Article 227, the IG is an independent entity in the performance of its functions, and not subject to the direction or control of any person or authority.

The IGG is only responsible to parliament. The president’s directive, therefore, has no legal basis, and the IGG and the military officers are not bound to obey it because it is unlawful.

The army is regarded as the disciplined force; therefore, they must be at the forefront of obeying every Ugandan law, especially the supreme law, the Constitution. The president has a constitutional duty to ensure that the people under his command do not breach the Constitution.

The classified expenditure which is mainly handled by the military and security officers is the most abused. There are many senior officers who have abundant wealth which exceeds their known earned income. And these assets are not an inheritance.

The CPA, as the president directs, cannot play an independent arbiter in this matter. One cannot be a judge in his own cause! The president should avoid to appear to be handling the army and security officers with kid gloves.

In another way, this may appear as if the security officers are untouchable and holding the president at ransom. There is nothing that breaches national security for an officer to declare his/her honest earnings and liabilities.