"Letting the big fish swim" [Elektronisk resurs] : failures to prosecute high-level corruption in Uganda / [Maria Burnett].

"October 2013."

"This report was written and researched by Maria Burnett, senior researcher in the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, and by a team from the Yale Law School Lowenstein Human Rights Clinic, law school students Julia Brower, Sheng Li, Tiffany Ng, and Jessica So, and Cover-Lowenstein Fellow Soo-Ryun Kwon"--Page 63.

Summary -- Recommendations. To the president, cabinet, and government of Uganda ; To the Ugandan police ; To the Anti-Corruption Court and Ugandan judiciary ; To Uganda's parliament ; To Uganda's development partners and donors, including the World Bank -- Methodology -- I. Context. Endless zero-tolerance promises ; Concerns for the future ; Patronage politics and lack of political will ; The impact of corruption on human rights ; Uganda's anti-corruption mechanisms ; The Anti-Corruption Court ; The Office of the Inspectorate of Government ; The Auditor General ; Parliament's Public Accounts Committee ; Directorate for Ethics and Integrity -- II. Political interference with anti-corruption institutions. Lack of appointed personnel ; Lack of disclosure of financial assets -- III. Shortcomings in anti-corruption laws. Overlapping mandates of the IGG and DPP ; Vague legal definitions ; Security of tenure -- IV. Obstacles to successful prosecutions. The record of the Anti-Corruption Court ; Political influence and corruption in the gathering of evidence ; Threats to prosecutors and witnesses -- V. Harassment and intimidation of anti-corruption activists. The "OPM" scandal 2012-2013 -- VI. The role of Uganda's donors. Strategic need, economic considerations, and entrenched self-interest ; Inconsistency and poor coordination ; Ineffective or incomplete donor demands ; Dangers of budget support and inadequate exploration of funding alternatives -- VII. Uganda's obligations to prosecute corruption in international law -- Acknowledgements.

"The 63-page report documents Uganda's failure to hold the highest members of its government accountable for large scale graft, despite repeated pledges to eradicate corruption and good technical work from investigators and prosecutors. The groups analyzed officials' use of legal loopholes and laws that insulate political appointees from accountability to elude punishment. A lack of political will has crippled Uganda's anti-corruption institutions, undermining their efforts through political interference, harassment, and threats, Human Rights Watch and the Lowenstein Clinic found"--Publisher's website.

PDF