Travel ban,asset freezes slapped on Uganda’s Speaker
The Speaker of Uganda’s Parliament, Rt. Hon. Annet Anita Among, has been slapped with sanctions by the government of United Kingdom(UK). The UK government says that Among is a beneficiary of returns from the Karamoja iron sheets scandal; a scandal that saw a number of ministers spend nights in the coolers.
The Deputy Foreign Secretary for the UK government, Andrew Mitchell, in a statement released on April, 30th, said that the Bukedea Woman Member of Parliament together with the former Minister for Karamoja Affairs, Mary Goretti Kitutu and her deputy, Agnes Nandutu will be faced with asset freezes and travel bans.
The speaker of the 11th parliament has been accused of opening the wallet endlessly to splash the tax payers hard earned money. Social media activists like Dr.Jim Spire Ssentongo and journalist Agather Atuhaire unearthed her weekly spending figures which shocked Ugandans. She claimed that the duo and those who backed their campaign dubbed #UgandaParliamentExhbition were agents of foreigners who were against her for steering parliament into passing the anti-homosexuality law last year.
The UK government has used the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions for the first time on individuals involved in corruption in Uganda as a way of forcing accountability amongst regime agents.
“Today, the UK is sending a clear message to those who think benefiting at the expense of others is acceptable. Corruption has consequences and you will be held responsible,” Mr. Mitchell stated.
The UK insists that the persons of Hon. Among, Hon. Kitutu and Hon. Nandutu, using their offices, denied services to Karamoja sub region. In this region, more than 60% of the people live in abject poverty culminating from drought and insecurity.
It is believed that these sanctions will aid in putting funds to the target beneficiaries deterring economic resources from going to the people who should actually be aiming at lobbying for more to uplift the status of needy persons and communities.
Under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971, an affected person must be refused to leave or to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom.
Previously, the UK sanctions under the Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime, targeted persons involved in corruption scandals across the world, including Russia, South Africa, Venezuela among other countries.
Parliament, in December 2021, passed a supplementary budget to support a number of programmes in the Karamoja sub region worth Shs39b meant to purchase 100,000 iron sheets, a number of relief items such as food among others. In 2022,the iron sheets were purchased but instead of delivering them to Karamoja ,it was established that 14,200 iron sheet pieces were shared among some ministers in the current government.
Amos Lugoloobi,Uganda’s state minister for Finance and Planning had used the iron sheets to roof a goat barn but to the surprise of many, when President Museveni made a mini shakeup in his cabinet, Amos Lugoloobi was kept in his portfolio, slashing the other two key culprits, Nandutu and Kitutu. However, the trio is still facing charges before the anti-corruption court.
“The Ugandan courts are rightly taking action to crack down on those politicians who seek to line their own pockets at their constituents’ expense,” Mr. Mitchell noted.
As a way of combating graft globally, these sanctions have been slapped on 42 entities and individuals since April, 2021 across the world. Uganda’s Speaker is a key figure in the current regime that has been sanctioned by a foreign nation over graft. It should also be remembered that last month, she was praised by the fountain of honour for putting up a multibillion health facility in her home district using what observers say is a tax payer’s money.
