{UAH} WHY MUSEVENI’S RDC AND DISO CAN’T FIGHT CORRUPTION

Written by CHANGE OF GUARDS

   "Corruption can lead to loss of legitimacy and trust in government. Because of corruption, disenchanted citizens can resort to mass demonstrations, violence and mob justice; and in some countries governments have collapsed because of this. Failure to provide, monitor and evaluate service delivery could result in undesirable situations; including political dissent, rebellion, demonstrations, attempting violent regime change/coups or any form of instability. If corruption is not tackled urgently, it could shut down the government and state organs, making the government in power irrelevant to the general population and it would be a recipe for insecurity in all forms.  Corruption facilitates political and economic sabotage of government programmes.  When trust in public institutions is poor, people's ability and willingness to engage in gainful activity also reduces. This is a recipe for poor segments of society to sink further into poverty since  they are highly dependent on services provided by the government. Unchecked corruption can lead to to insecurity, uncertainty and undermine democratic and developmental gains of the regime in power. Corruption leads to elite capture (where technocrats and connected individuals turn institutions, opportunities and resources to their private advantage) and on the other hand, patronage and clientelism are both causes and consequences of corruption. Clientelism entails a situation where a small but highly organised group controls power and uses its influence to benefit from public resources at the cost of the would-be beneficiaries."

    Brig. Ronnie Balya – July 2016

Once again Museveni is duping Ugandans claiming not to know as to why his cadre RDCs and spies are not helping in the fight against endemic corruption in the country. The claims are contained in his addresses during the ongoing countrywide anti-protest mobilisation tour. He keeps wondering as to why the Resident District Commissioner (RDC),  the District Internal Security Officer (DISO), the Sub County Internal Security Officer (GISO), the Parish Internal Security Officer (PISO) fail to detect corrupt tendencies and corruption in general. Indeed, the said regime cadres are in the know of all the corruption tendencies in their respective geographic jurisdictions.  However, fighting corruption is not their core mandate.  

In July 2016. the then Director General of Internal Security Organisation (DG/ISO), Brig. Ronnie Balya delivered a 50 page paper at a cabinet retreat in Kyankwanzi. The humiliated and embarrassed Museveni sarcastically said that he was then assigning ISO to lead the fight against corruption. Instead, a few days later he sacked Brig. Balya and ISO did not take the lead in the fight against corruption. At the back of his mind, Museveni agreed with the report but believes in the power of the gun to suppress dissent and it's working. The said 50 page paper was shelved and seven years down the road, Museveni is duping Ugandans that he doesn't know why the said  institutions can't fight corruption. 

The RDC is the representative of the President and the central government in general in the District. RDCs are selected and appointed by the President and structurally fall under the Office of the President. The core qualification for the position of RDC is loyalty to Musevenism. Though with no security expertise, the RDC is the Chairperson of the District Security Committee that is composed of local military commanders, Police Commanders, ISO and other relevant heads of agencies within the district. The so-called District Security Committee has nothing to do with security in the sense of protecting the lives and property of citizens. It is s simply a tool for persecution and repression of dissenting voices through the curtailing of freedoms of assembly, movement, association, speech etc.  

As the chief political mobiliser for Museveni in the district, the RDC is expected to use the cover of security to suffocate dissent by curtailing civic space, denying political opposition any platform of interacting with the ordinary citizens, undermine the economic prospects of dissenting voices, selective service delivery, and other available opportunities. They ensure that Museveni is declared the winner at the district level through the orchestration of violence and ballot stuffing. The appraisal of an RDC is about nothing but how much dissent he has suppressed in his area of jurisdiction. In some strategic districts, RDCs clandestinely coordinate acts of 'dirty games'  targeting political dissenters. In the same regard, some target districts have RDCs whose core mandate is simply to facilitate land grabbing and economic sabotage targeting certain regions and the population therein.  

Also under the same President's Office, there are soldiers with army numbers who serve under the ISO. At the district and other lower local government level, they are the field staff for the office of the RDC. They help his office to achieve its core mandate. The two entities have all the information with regard to all forms of corruption and abuse of office in their respective geographic jurisdictions. They simply turn a blind eye because almost 98% of the beneficiaries are Museveni's loyalists. They are also corrupt and survive on blackmailing and extortions from the corrupt. They share in the diversion of public resources meant for addressing the social and economic needs of the locals. This is because they understand very well that the top leadership lacks the will to fight graft.  They use the vice for rewarding themselves for doing all within their means for Museveni to stay in power.  Otherwise, the RDC and his ISO cadres know all the ghost road constructions, ghost schools, ghost students, ghost public servants, ghost health facilities, ghost SACCOs, and all the diversion of public resources. They get their share and turn a blind eye because the vice is not a direct threat to Museveni's hold on power, which is their core mandate.   

Therefore, if Museveni wishes to fight graft, it can take his security and local government structures only 48 hours to avail him a detailed report of all the corrupt and who stole what, where and when. Within the next 72 hours all the culprits and exhibits would be rounded up, charged and put on trial. Moreover, the corrupt are a small minority who can fill just a quarter of the national stadium. However, such a scenario can only arise if one million citizens attempt a coup against Museveni. They would all be rounded up, summarily executed and the lucky few taken to the remote Karamoja region for detention without trial. 

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Allaah gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him."And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things." (6:17)

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