VZCZCXRO6247
RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0175/01 0500520
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190520Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1145
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC//ICITAPP//

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. 
 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
DESPERATE TIMES, DESPERATE MEASURES 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶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. 
 
 
KAMPALA 00000175  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶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. 
 
- - - - 
COMMENT 
- - - - 
 
¶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