KAMPALA, Uganda: In the corridors of power, it has hitherto been widely whispered that she was the best replacement at the government ombudsman`s top office. This was so, after it became vivid that Betty Olive Namisango Kamya, the then Inspector General of Government (IGG), was not having her term of office renewed, thanks to the scandals she was swimming into.
In the same vein, Her Worship Marriam Wangadya, the current Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, was whispered to have been the best candidate for the post of the Deputy Chief Justice. She even became most suitable when she exposed to the president, the politicians who had allegedly approached her with a proposal of having her budget supplementary passed as is, only if she would cough some billions in return.
However, we have landed on a missive, suggesting possibilities as to why the towering lady judge was eventually, not considered for either of the two above positions. From deep into her office corners, a dossier snakes out, accusing her of gross maladministration, corruption and abuse of office. If they test positive, the allegations leave no room for Wangadya at any top government office.
The Preamble
For starters, the Uganda Human Rights Commission was established in November 1996 to protect and promote human rights in Uganda. According to Article 51 of the Constitution, the UHRC is legally comprised of a chairperson and at least three other persons appointed by the President, with the approval of Parliament.
The Constitution envisages the Chairperson and Members of the Commission to be persons of high moral character and proven integrity. However, going by the missive under review, the behavior and conduct by the current Chair, Mariam Wangadya, falls short of the said constitutional requirement.
The current situation at the UHRC is suggested as being characterized by gross maladministration, corruption, abuse of office, impunity, arrogance, intimidation and bullying! All the above, reveals the dossier, is being orchestrated by none other than the Chairperson herself, Ms. Wangadya.
“Staff are living in a state of fear and helplessness since the constitution of the Republic of Uganda gives the Commission powers to appoint staff under Article 57. Even some Members of the Commission have not been spared by her conduct. She runs the Commission like a private outfit and therefore, not subjected to any internal controls and she is not held accountable for anything,” reads the twelve-page missive sourced from deep into the Commission`s corridors.
The authors of the carefully penned complaint suggests that the situation is getting out of hand and requires urgent intervention by the relevant authorities, as well as the appointing authority. Indeed, we have confirmed receipt of the same, by the Inspector General of Government (IGG) office, the Speaker of Parliament and CID. When contacted, the known UHRC mouthpiece Alex Bukumunhe confirmed knowledge of the dossier but requested for a “few days” to allow him prepare for a rebuttal. However, he did not pick our calls anymore, when the “few days” elapsed.
The Dossier in Part I
Corruption/abuse of office: For starters, Wangadya joined the Commission in September 2021 when she was 56 years old. Therefore, she was ineligible to contribute to NSSF. However, she supposedly forced the Human Resource Manager and the Secretary to the Commission to continue making a 10% Government NSSF contribution for her until March 2025, when she heeled to the pressure from the Ministry of Public Service. Hence, for a period of over three years, she earned that money illegally while knowing what she was doing was illegal.
Her accusers further allege that starting with Financial Year 2024/2025, 2025/2026 and the current budgeting process for 2026/2027 financial year which started with the preparation of the budget framework paper, Wangadya is alleged to have taken over the budgeting process. “The Management Committee, the Finance Committee and the Commission have all been sidelined! The real budgeting is done by her, Commissioner [Crispin Kugiza] Kaheru and Director Pauline Nansamba,” reads the dossier.
“Because she followed up with the Attorney General and the Ministry of Finance for increased funding through a supplementary budget in, she declared that the additional funding to the Commission of UGX10.4bn was and remains her personal money! It is that money she wants spent on her as much as possible without any form of internal controls, no accountability and she should get it for anything she wants.”
The authors further digs deep thus; “For instance, out of the UGX10.4bn, UGX2bn was set aside for salary enhancement as a block for Chairperson, Members and Staff. Instead of following a proper methodology to seek approvals from Cabinet and Parliament, the Chairperson unilaterally determined her salary and that of Commissioners. She simply informed Members of the Commission what they would earn without informing them of hers in a meeting of December 18th 2024. The difference between her salary and Members is UGX20 million!”
It should be noted that Wangadya supposedly usurped powers of Parliament to determine her own salary and that of Members. She did not care about staff whose long pay target was determined by Cabinet and being the lowly paid. In the last two financial years and the next coming financial year, a new budget line, which had never existed in the history of the Commission for the Office of the Chairperson is said to have been introduced under supposed duress!
Ideally, the Office of the Chairperson coordinates all functions of the Commission and therefore it is the technical directorates and or departments that budget for execution of the mandate of the Commission. “But what is happening now, the Office of the Chairperson is allocated a budget even bigger than some departments! It is through this arrangement that she gets money to `hold` stakeholder engagements which never take place!” Instead, writes the complainants, the money is channeled through her Personal Assistants private bank accounts! “At first, it was through Ms. Pauline Nansamba and now, Ms. Doreen Mukunyu Nabatte. In fact, these two ladies personal accounts should be investigated to explain why they receive that money and how they spend it.”
The dossier, which will run in three articles in these pages, cites Commissioner Crispin Kugiza Kaheru as Wangadya`s blue-eyed boy and with whom, she commits most of the alleged misappropriation of funds and other malpractices. “Again, in the current financial year, instead of beefing up funding for the core mandate of the Commission, the Chairperson and Commissioner Kaheru budgeted for the latest models of vehicles for themselves and generators for their private residences.” Watch this space
Author Profile
- Stanley Ndawula is a two and a half decades’ seasoned investigative journalist with a knack for serious crimes investigations and reporting. He’s the Founding Editorial Director and CEO at The Investigator Publications (U) Limited
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