Outspoken historian, Professor Mwambutsya Ndebesa, says the embattled former Speaker of Parliament, Annet Anita Among, had a “License” for corruption that was revoked last week.
He argues that Anita Among, who is under probe on suspected abuse of office and self-enrichment, has been a beneficiary of what he described as a system of political protection that determines when corruption allegations are pursued or ignored.
He was speaking during a public lecture on political accountability and corruption under the theme Public and Public Trust: Assessing Accountability in Uganda’s Governance.
Ndebesa argued that corruption in Uganda is often governed by informal political protection rather than consistent enforcement of the law. He described this protection as a “license,” saying: “In Uganda, corruption is licensed.”
According to him, individuals accused of corruption may operate freely so long as they retain political protection.
“When you are involved in this public corruption, political corruption, be sure that you keep the license. Once it is revoked, you’re in trouble,” he said.
He cited Anita Among in explaining his argument on shifting political protection.
“In Uganda, corruption is licensed. And when you lose favor in politics, that license can be revoked. So the one of Anita Among has been revoked. But before that, she had a license. She had a license. She was legally doing that,” said Ndebesa at a Lecture hosted by Uganda Law Society’s Radical New Bar.
He cited the AGORA Exhibition last year, which came out with documentary evidence about suspected abuse of public funds at the parliament, including the controversial 1.7 billion shilling shared among the parliamentary Commissioners.
SOURCE: URN
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