UGANDAN IGG'S AMBITIONS THREATEN ANTI-CORRUPTION FIGHT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 000175

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS


DOJ FOR ICITAP, TREVILLIAN, RODERICK, BARR, AND BEINHART; DEPARTMENT
FOR DS/IP/AF


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM KTIP KCRM KWMN SMIG ASEC UG
SUBJECT: UGANDAN IGG'S AMBITIONS THREATEN ANTI-CORRUPTION FIGHT


1. (SBU) Summary: President Museveni granted Uganda's controversial
Inspector General of Government (IGG),Faith Mwondha, another
four-year term in office. Mwondha launched an all-out effort to
keep her job, which included actions that jeopardized important
corruption investigations. In the lead up to her contract renewal,
Mwondha rushed cases to court without sufficient evidence,
reportedly to get headlines to create the illusion she was doing a
good job. Mwondha has largely been ineffective, refuses to report
to Parliament, as mandated by the Constitution, and has created many
enemies through her interventions and accusations. However, she has
doggedly gone after the President's political enemies with
corruption cases on his behalf. Alarmingly, Mwondha's incompetence,
arrogance, and management style has seriously damaged the IGG as an
institution and her re-appointment will likely lead to another
exodus of staff. Despite her professions of independence, Mwondha
can be expected to go after the regime's political opponents in
advance of the 2011 elections, further damaging the credibility of
the country's anti-corruption efforts. End Summary.

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BACKGROUND
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2. (SBU) IGG Faith Mwondha was appointed to her first four-year
term in office in early 2005. Initially, she was viewed as a
"crusader", incorruptible, and willing to stand up against
high-level corruption. She maintains her office is independent and
that she only answers to God and the President. Constitutionally,
she should answer to Parliament, but over the past four years, she
has refused to appear before Parliament's Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs Committee, which has oversight over the IGG. After repeated
failures to appear in Parliament, Peter Nyombi, the Committee Chair,
went to the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Sekkandi, who told Nyombi
that the IGG had "special protection" from the President so
Parliament had to be careful in making demands on her to appear
despite Parliament's oversight rights.


3. (SBU) Mwondha's claim of impartiality was called into question
in the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI) case.
Mwondha's investigation was flawed and politicized, but gave
Museveni enough grounds to arrest three former health officials for
corruption in May 2007. The IGG's case was poorly prepared and had
to be taken over by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions. The
Constitutional Court found that the judge in the case, who is the
IGG's cousin, could not be impartial and ordered the case moved to
another judge. Another appeal is pending at the Constitutional
Court. Should the case make it back to the magistrate's court, both
President Museveni and the First Lady could themselves face perjury
and corruption charges, largely the result of the IGG's poorly
conducted investigation. As a result, it is more likely that the
case will be settled politically, out of court with a soft landing
for corrupt officials.


4. (SBU) There are questions surrounding the IGG's integrity and
incorruptibility. Her manipulation of Public Service regulations to
receive a higher salary is still being investigated. She refused to
pay for incidental expenses during a stay in China that prompted a
visit from the Chinese Ambassador in Kampala to collect payment for
telephone calls, mini-bar, and room service bills. The Internal
Security Organization (ISO) of the Presidency prepared a report
containing this and other evidence of the IGG's personal corruption.
Mwondha's refusal to appear before Parliament resulted in the
preparation of a report outlining questions about her performance
and the constitutionality of some of her actions, particularly her
interference in procurement processes at great cost to the
government and Ugandan taxpayers.

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DESPERATE TIMES, DESPERATE MEASURES
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5. (SBU) Mwondha's poor performance and self-righteousness provoked
talk about her contract renewal late last year. Seeking to solidify
prospects for her reappointment, the IGG began pushing prosecutors
to proceed in cases, even those which lacked sufficient evidence.
Current and former IGG staff members report that this was a
deliberate tactic to grab headlines in order to create the illusion
she was being successful. However, senior IGG prosecutors tell us
that the decision to push cases irrespective of the strength of the
evidence has caused significant disagreement and turmoil within the
office. These senior attorneys complain that the IGG is more
interested in her reappointment for a second term than pursuing
justice with cases that are ready for prosecution and likely to
result in convictions.


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6. (SBU) In January 2009, the IGG ordered the prosecution of five
suspects in corruption cases. Senior trial attorneys advised the
IGG that they lacked sufficient evidence against four of the five
suspects and recommended prosecution of only one with the other
suspects remaining under investigation. The IGG ignored the legal
analysis of the attorneys and ordered the prosecution of all five
suspects. The court returned a verdict acquitting four and
convicting one of the suspects, reflecting the analysis of the trial
attorneys. The IGG then accused the trial attorneys of "throwing
the case" to prove their point.


7. (SBU) The IGG's failure to follow sound legal analysis from
trial attorneys in this case is not an isolated incident. Over the
past few months, the IGG demanded immediate prosecutions of three
individuals who were under investigation by her staff. Despite
being informed that the investigations were not complete and needed
additional evidence, the IGG ordered the cases to proceed. The
IGG's insistence was motivated by her desire to use new prosecutions
to bolster her reputation for aggressively pursuing public
corruption cases. A senior trial attorney reported that the IGG
forced these premature prosecutions because she was concerned about
her pending reappointment. The current atmosphere in the IGG's
office is so difficult that a senior attorney took 36 days of leave
in the hope that the IGG would be replaced.

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COMMENT
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8. (SBU) Mwondha's reappointment means that Museveni and Amelia
Kyambadde, the President's Principal Private Secretary, still find
her useful for going after political enemies. Her extended tenure
does not bode well for Uganda's fight against corruption. Her
investigations and prosecutions are not resulting in convictions or
sanctions against corrupt officials. More alarming is the exodus of
talented and trained staff, which is weakening the IGG as an
anti-corruption institution. Though outsiders believe that
institution would have been better served with a new appointee, her
reappointment may be an indication that Museveni is more interested
in pursuing some public corruption cases while ignoring other
blatant abuses of office and public procurements by helping his
allies and weakening his enemies.
BROWNING