President Museveni’s reluctance to fire his Minister of Gender, Syda Bbumba, and that of General Duties, Khiddu Makubuya, has left parliament without recourse but to add the role onto one they already have that of approving them.

It has left political observers and commentators wondering whether he has always meant his constant complaints that he lacks support to tackle corruption. 

Museveni threw the two ministers under the bus last week when, while appearing before parliament’s Public Accounts Committee for the second time in his quarter century presidency to date, he said they should bear full responsibility for dishing out huge amounts of money in compensation to shady businessman Hassan Bassajabalaba.

The compensations were intended to makeup for the losses the man who chairs the ruling party’s entrepreneurial league and a known financier of its political campaigns claims he made when Museveni personally cancelled contracts of markets around Kampala he had reportedly bought under unclear circumstances.

At the time, Bbumba was the Minister of Finance while Makubuya was the Attorney General.
Museveni, however, refused to relieve them of their duties, claiming patience and fairness were important in such decisions.

He promised they would be handled but did not elaborate on the how or when.

Now, some outspoken MPs on corruption remain determined. “As a committee, we will produce a report with recommendations [about them] and parliament will take a decision on their part based on it,” Rosemary Seninde, a member of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee probing a series of suspicious transactions told The EastAfrican.

“We will make sure that these ministers leave their positions and my humble appeal to them is that they shouldn’t waste parliament’s time,” Seninde, chief mobiliser of the coalition of outspoken MPs, added.

The House’s record so far on forcing ministers out is unprecedented in the history of the legislature in Uganda. At the beginning, members grilled several ministerial appointments to near disapproval and completely refused to endorse three positions, which remain vacant up to today.

A few months ago, they forced the minister of foreign affairs, the government’s chief whip in parliament, and a junior minister of labour to temporarily vacate their offices over allegations of graft. Not long after, they landed a full resignation of a Cabinet minister over allegations of theft.

Although their pressure has yet to deliver the same results with two other senior Cabinet members, including Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, who is seen as the big catch, parliamentarians have drawn up a list of a number of other ministers they intend to see out of their positions.

“Parliament, and indeed civil society and all Ugandans are waking up to the realisation that fighting corruption is the first priority in Uganda,” noted Robert Lugolobi, executive director Transparency International Uganda.

Unfortunately, Lugolobi added, Museveni is failing to pitch in as he must and as many Ugandans expect him to.

“President Museveni should act even on glaring allegations of corruption.

The essence of asking people to resign is to allow smooth investigations. It is not conviction of guilt. For as long as these people still hold their positions, they are too powerful and can easily hamper the investigations.”

According to Lugolobi, “Public opinion is very important.

That’s why in civilised countries you see people resigning on any suspicion of wrongdoing. It is the noble response to an allegation of corruption.”

Political commentator and Makerere University Don, Mwambutsya Ndebesa, noted the way in which Museveni’s inaction erodes public trust in government and reflects badly on him because of the profile of the ministers in question.

If it continues, he warned, “it will become a gully and will cause much more havoc both within the NRM and with the public as well.”
MP Seninde couldn’t agree more.

“It’s not good for him. In order to show Ugandans that he is interested in fighting corruption, that he is willing, he must lead the way,” she noted, and added, “He will help the party if he relieves them of their duties and so they don’t waste parliament’s time through censure.”
As Ndebesa sees it, Museveni needs to recapture his past glory by doing something radical and which has a huge symbolic value.

“If I were him, I would have a reshuffle to restate public trust. Museveni has just appointed that cabinet so he can change it.

After all, he has permanent interests, not permanent friends. But he is the political strategist and I’m not so he knows this much better.”