By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
The Inspectorate of Government (IG) has confirmed it is processing a petition seeking investigations into the wealth and assets of Speaker of Parliament Anita Annet Among following allegations of under-declaration of wealth.
Inspector General of Government Justice Aisha Batala Naluzze made the confirmation on Friday while addressing journalists on the outcome of the declaration of income, assets and liabilities exercise for public officers, which ended on April 30.
The development follows a petition filed on May 13 by six complainants identifying themselves as citizens and taxpayers under Section 21 of the Leadership Code Act.
The petitioners, led by Andrew Karamagi of the Pan African Lawyers Union, accused Speaker Among of alleged under-declaration of wealth and called for immediate investigations.
According to the petitioners, Section 4 of the Leadership Code Act requires leaders to declare their income, assets and liabilities every two years during the month of March. They argued that failure to comply attracts penalties including dismissal from office and forfeiture of undeclared assets.
Naluzze said the Inspectorate had formally received the petition from a group of lawyers and activists seeking a comprehensive investigation into Among over alleged breaches of the Leadership Code Act.
“The Inspectorate has commenced investigations and findings will be shared upon completion of the process,” Naluzze said.
Data at the IG indicates that out of 302,800 public officers registered on the IG-ODS system, only 241,230 submitted their declarations by the April 30 deadline.
A total of 61,570 public officers failed to declare their income, assets and liabilities.
Naluzze warned that officers who failed to comply risk sanctions under the Leadership Code Act, including fines, demotion, dismissal from office, vacation of office, confiscation and forfeiture of illicitly acquired assets, gifts or benefits to government, as well as recovery of losses occasioned to public property.
She said some public officers deliberately refused to declare their wealth and warned that legal action would be taken against non-compliant officials.
“The IG will process cases for officers who did not declare and refer them to the Leadership Code Tribunal for adjudication,” she said.
Naluzze also urged members of the public to continue reporting suspected cases of unexplained wealth, opulence and misconduct involving public officials and government leaders.
