Corruption Report Fingers Museveni

LLI, Kampala — A new report on corruption in Uganda names President Yoweri Museveni as one of those responsible for what it calls widespread "bribery, nepotism, and misuse of official positions and resources" in the country.

The report, published in Kampala on Monday, says that since Museveni came to power in 1986, "waves of scandals" have hit his administration.

"Members of his inner circle—from both military and cabinet—have been accused of theft and improper procurement of state resources by the media, civil society, the auditor general, and parliament," the report says.

But despite "many plans and relentless promises... corruption in Uganda remains pervasive at both low and high levels of public administration... Only one minister has ever been convicted of a corruption-related offense, a verdict that was overturned on appeal just after the president publicly offered to pay the defendant's legal costs."

The report is based on research by the New York-based advocacy group, Human Rights Watch, and the Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic of Yale University earlier this year.
It notes that media attention often concentrates on the "big fish who got away" but that the solutions proposed rely on "technical responses."

"Those responses overlook what, based on past actions, can be described as the government's deep-rooted lack of political will to address corruption at the highest levels and importantly, to set an example- starting from the top - that graft will not be tolerated," the report goes on to say.

Among issues highlighted by the report:

• The president and Parliament "have failed to empower key institutions, either by failing to fill key vacancies or by failing to establish institutions..."
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• High-ranking officials whose offices have been implicated in corruption often remain in their positions while individuals under them have faced prosecution and, in some cases, jail.
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• Lack of protection for witnesses and prosecutors has resulted in a focus on "low-level corruption involving small sums of money, while the 'big fish' have continued to accumulate wealth and power."

The report adds: "In some Anti-Corruption Court cases involving well-connected individuals, senior officials have directed prosecutors to delay prosecution or prematurely try a case with incomplete or weak evidence.

"Investigators, prosecutors, and witnesses involved in such cases have been the targets of threats and requests for bribes.In some Anti-Corruption Court cases involving well-connected individuals, senior officials have directed prosecutors to delay prosecution or prematurely try a case with incomplete or weak evidence. Investigators, prosecutors, and witnesses involved in such cases have been the targets of threats and requests for bribes."

In a press release accompanying the report, Human Rights Watch said it was based on interviews with 48 people "with substantive knowledge of anti-corruption efforts in Uganda" and on reports from local activists, foreign development partners and the World Bank.

Corruption, financial crime and asset recovery focus of INTERPOL meeting in Nigeria-LLI

Legal link International,ABUJA, Nigeria – Senior investigators and prosecutors from West, East and Central Africa have come together in Nigeria to discuss ways to successfully identify, investigate and prosecute cases of corruption and related financial crimes at the 6th INTERPOL Global Programme on Anti-Corruption, Financial Crimes and Asset Recovery.

Organized by INTERPOL’s Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes unit in coordination with the INTERPOL Regional Bureau in Abidjan and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria, the five-day (7-11 October) meeting gathered some 60 participants from 16 countries to examine the latest tools and techniques for investigating different forms of corruption.

Topics covered included fraud, financial crimes, abuse of authority, corruption in procurement and contracting, corruption in the financial sector, abuse of public office, money laundering, auditing and computer forensics, asset recovery and the effective use of mutual legal assistance in international investigations.

Ibrahim Lamorde, Executive Director of the EFCC, highlighted the critical role of international police cooperation in successfully tackling corruption in Africa and beyond.
“Corruption on the scale in which we confront it today is hardly a simplistic, one-man criminal endeavour.

That is why we are devoting enormous resources to set up operational institutions, build legal architectures and drive through reform programmes. But these efforts will always come up short against determined criminals if they are not backed by inter-agency cooperation,” warned Mr Lamorde.

Presentations during the meeting – the first of its kind held in West Africa – focused on case studies, challenges to successful investigations, prosecutions of corruption cases and information specifically relevant to the African region, with practical exercises to assist participants in enhancing their skills and abilities.

“Corruption and financial crimes are growing security threats to our societies. Investigating corruption and financial crime requires better understanding of the crime,” said Inspector General of the Nigerian Police, Mohammed Abubakar.

“To stay ahead of the criminals, the law enforcement community needs to have the necessary resources, knowledge and well-developed partnerships with all stakeholders,” he concluded.

Delegates were also updated on an innovative new tool to enhance the fight against corruption: the INTERPOL Secure E-mail Capability – Asset Recovery (SECOM). For the first time within the anti-corruption community, SECOM will enable the instant and secure exchange of information and technical knowledge on corruption and related asset recovery.

In the field of asset recovery, INTERPOL works closely with the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative, run jointly by the World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The objectives of the INTERPOL-StAR partnership for the coming years in international asset recovery will be examined during the meeting.

Head of INTERPOL’s Anti-Corruption unit, Jaganathan Saravanasamy acknowledged “the prominent role played by the EFCC in the fight against corruption.”

“Corruption is a universal phenomenon; no country, no society is immune to it. The challenges to tackling corruption are immense and investigations into cases of corruption are often complex, therefore it is critical that law enforcement worldwide is equipped with the knowledge and skills to bring an end to this harmful crime,” said Mr Saravanasamy

INTERPOL’s Global Focal Point Platform connects registered anti-corruption practitioners worldwide and provides them access to a range of investigative tools and services, including contact details of their counterparts around the globe, legislative and judicial frameworks concerning asset recovery, all valid INTERPOL notices issued for corruption-related cases, and an ‘initial action checklist’ to assist with the first stages of an investigation. Some 170 national investigators and prosecutors from nearly 100 countries have been nominated as Focal Points

  

POSTED BY KIGGUNDU HENRY, THE DIRECTOR, LEGAL LINK INTERNATIONAL

Kenya: Fears of Graft As Kenya Govt Unable to Account for U.S.$3.6 Billion in Spending - Report

 

Kenya Revenue Authority Offices at the Times Tower Building is responsible for collecting income, customs, and excise tax.

 A third of the Kenya government's expenditures for the last financial year - some $3.6 billion - cannot be accounted for, local media reported, pointing to loopholes for the theft of public funds.

In the 2011/12 financial year report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, auditor general Edward Ouko said accounting officers did not properly explain how 33 percent of the government's 920 billion Kenya shilling ($10.8 billion) expenditure was used.

"I was not able to establish whether expenditures reflected in these statements were incurred lawfully," he said in a report from Business Daily.

"We were very frustrated by their deliberate efforts to deny us information," our source quoted him as saying, referring to accounting officers' failure to provide documents to support their expenses.

Only 6 percent of financial statements were clean. Most had problems with unsupported expenditures, unauthorized spending, excess expenditures and failure by civil servants to surrender loans.

In September, the government came under fire for introducing a 16 percent value added tax (VAT) on basic foodstuffs, like milk, when millions of its citizens struggle to eat more than once a day.

The treasury is trying to raise cash to help plug a budget deficit of about $3.8 billion.

The International Monetary Fund has said that raising revenues is not enough. The quality and efficiency of public spending must also improve.

"We hope that the leakages will be investigated by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to ensure taxpayers start getting value," Michael Otieno of the National Taxpayers Association submitted.