The Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has issued a strong warning about a forthcoming fight against corruption in the country.
In a message on his X, Gen Muhoozi said time for jokes is over.
“The time for jokes in Uganda is soon coming to an end. We the children of the great leader, Mzee, will soon be in charge and we cannot stand corruption and inefficiency,” Gen Muhoozi said.
The statement according to those near Gen Muhoozi, signals his dedication to fight corruption.
Since his appointment as CDF in 2024 Gen Muhoozi has been credited for putting up a spirited fight against corruption in the Ministry of Defence and the UPDF, with over shs2 trillion recouped during this time.
A number of high ranking UPDF officers have since been arrested and currently detained as part of Gen Muhoozi’s anti-corruption purge.
There have been several cases of inflated procurement contracts for fuel and spare parts, especially for the Uganda People’s Defence Air Force as well as military operations in Somalia where issues like diversion of soldiers’ food and fuel have been diverted by commanders.
Gen. Muhoozi recently said corruption in the army has dropped by 85 per cent since he took over as CDF.
“There is corruption in our country, but I can assure all of you that in the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs, it has reduced by 85% since we took command,” he said.
President Museveni recently applauded Gen Muhoozi for his fight against corruption, especially in the army.
“Gen. Muhoozi has made significant contribution to fighting corruption in the Army and increasing the lethality of the UPDF,” Museveni said last week.
Uganda has for many years performed poorly in regards corruption fight.
Corruption is widespread, deeply entrenched in public services and other sectors, with the country currently being ranked as the 148th least corrupt nation out of 180 countries, according to the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International.
While high-risk areas include procurement, the judiciary, and police, at least 38% of people reporting paying bribes for services.
The IGG in 2024 reported that Uganda loses over shs10 trillion annually through embezzlement, ghost projects, and procurement fraud and this figure could have gone up in the past two years.
Corruption has become entrenched, partly due to greed, weak supervision, and a cultural normalization of the vice among other factors.
Whereas there are several efforts to fight corruption by government, the vice has persisted.
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