Anti-Corruption Strategy

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JLOS has developed an Anti-Corruption Strategy

The Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) is one of the sectors provided for under the government Sector Wide Approach (SWAP) adopted in 1998 by the government of Uganda. The sector has been in existence for the last thirteen years and is made up of Seventeen (17) MDAs. Upon realization that the fight against corruption is ineffective without a clear strategy, the sector is in the process of formulating an anti corruption strategy.

The Justice Law and Order Sector Anti-Corruption Strategy is a framework designed to enable planning in order to make a significant impact on reducing corruption in the Sector institutions as well as building and strengthening the quality of accountability in the country as a whole. It will focus on Ministries, Departments and Agencies, which comprise the JLOS, members of staff and systems in order to contribute to the National Anti Corruption Strategy vision of Zero Tolerance for corruption to create an efficient and effective service delivery.

Corruption has been generally understood to mean “abuse of entrusted authority for illicit gain”. This broad definition includes any conduct or behavior in relation to persons entrusted with responsibilities in public office which violates their duties as public officials and which is aimed at obtaining undue gratification of any kind for themselves or for others”

In an area in which objective data is not readily available, perceptions and other assessments are some indicators of real levels of corruption. This makes corruption very hard to measure. . According to the World Bank and the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index as well as other local surveys like National Integrity Survey (NIS) and the Public Procurement Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), it is estimated that Uganda losses over 250 million US dollars of public resources per annum to corruption.

According to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) 2010, JLOS institutions like the Uganda Police Force and the Judiciary are ranked among the top three corrupt institutions in Uganda. Uganda is placed among countries in which people reportedly most often (in comparison to other countries) have to pay bribes when entering into contact with institutions like the Police, Judiciary or customs. This reflects public mistrust, which heightens the crime rates and complicates the work of JLOS institutions in administration of justice in Uganda.

The National Anti Corruption Strategy identifies some key aspects of society that enable corruption to exist and flourish as follows;

• Public beliefs and attitudes;
• Ineffective accountability systems;
• Lack of political leadership and accountability;
• Moral decay in public service
• Limited capacity of anti-corruption agencies and the judicial system
• Delays in the legislative framework:

Other driving factors include but are not limited to;

• Poor staff motivation and/or remuneration;
• Poor organisational/institutional structures that do not clearly outline roles and responsibilities to specific officials;
• Poor internal controls and segregation of duties;
• Poor record keeping, archiving and tracking systems;
• Inadequate transparency, for example in prioritizing and sequencing the hearing of court cases or payment of court awards;
• Public ignorance about various procedures and rights;
• Lengthy court resolution timelines that lead to frustration of stakeholders who may resort to easier/faster options to achieve end results; and
• Political interference among others.

The JLOS Anti-corruption Strategy is therefore aimed at strengthening the sector’s capacity to deal with corruption, at strengthening integrity, transparency and service delivery within institutions, thus building public trust. This anti-corruption strategy has been developed for JLOS in order to give effect to the expressed commitment of the sector to fight corruption in the JLOS agencies. The Strategy places the emphasis on a broad sectoral effort while identifying specific institutional responsibilities as they apply.

The purpose of the JLOS Anti-corruption Strategy is to prevent and combat corruption through a multiplicity of supportive actions. This strategy is meant to provide JLOS with a holistic and an integrated approach to fighting corruption across institutions involved in the administration of justice. To enhance operational efficiency, the strategy will take a broad service wide approach to the promotion of accountability by exploited synergies that already exist like the 3Cs; coordination, co-operation and communication to ensure harmonization and standardization.

The Anti-Corruption strategy will together with the already existing mechanisms and strategies prevent and deter corruption in the JLOS Institutions, put in place standards of behavior and systems for detection, investigations and punishment of corruption. It will also enlist support from members of the public, civil society and other governmental organizations that are involved in the fight against corruption. The strategy is thus a mixture of preventive and combative mechanisms against corruption and maladministration in the JLOS.

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JLOS Anti-Corruption Strategy

KAMPALA - The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in partnership with the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) held the 2^nd JLOS Annual Anti-Corruption Forum on 28^th October 2020, as part of the Government annual anti-corruption campaign. The Forum was held under the theme “Technological Readiness for Effective Accountability in Pursuit of a National Middle-Income Status: A Critical Reflection on JLOS Anti-Corruption Legal Enforcement’. The focus was the operability and effectiveness of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Anti-Corruption Court Division of the High Court, in light of the use of technology.

The Forum was convened and presided over by Hon. Justice Jane Frances Abodo, the Director of Public Prosecutions who emphasised the importance of embracing technological capabilities to meet the contemporary crime challenges and manifestations, especially for white-collar crime. The Forum demonstrated how technological advancements have increased the sophistication of crime, now invisible to traditional crime management systems. Economic crime in particular, has a direct negative correlation with development and if left unchecked, can pave way for State capture. It can undermine and further delay Uganda’s development efforts and aspiration for a middle-income economic status.

Development Partners, including the United Nations Development Programme and the Austria Development Agency in Uganda emphasised the corrosive effect of corruption on Uganda’s economic growth and welfare of citizens. The poor and marginalised persons are prone to suffer a disproportionately higher burden of corruption when for instance seeking justice services or medical care. The Partners echoed their commitment to support Uganda’s development agenda, more so in the modernisation of the justice, law and order institutions, and building technological capabilities to effectively combat corruption. 

The Forum resolved to enhance institutional strengthening and integration, reforming and completing pipeline anti-corruption legislation, and embrace the required technologies. Embracing integrated modern hardware and software technologies, applying big data and machine learning to facilitate processes among the criminal justice chain-linked institutions, should be integrated with credible system security against hackers and internal breaches. The technological reforms should be matched with specialised human resource skilling and development of expert anti-corruption investigators, prosecutors and adjudicators. Matters of legality and admissibility of evidence sourced from local and international jurisdictions using mutual legal assistance procedures are equally very important. Therefore, investment in research and innovation in different spheres of technological development and application is key to ensure a holistic transformation. This is the reality of the fourth industrial revolution.

From a governance point of view, while modern technology minimises opportunistic corruption and enhances institutional efficiency, the transformation should be matched with sufficient sensitisation of duty bearers and the public to ensure informed and effective utilisation of the proposed developments. Stakeholder inclusion is central to ensure no one is left behind under this transformation in terms of access and operability for both duty bearers and the public. As a matter of caution, data protection, systems security, management and regard for human rights must be observed. Data privacy, confidentiality and protection are critical considerations that must be part of a technological revolution. The transformation must comply with modernisation and legality to maintain legitimacy and the rule of law of Uganda’s anti-corruption enforcement.

In attendance was Hon. Lady Justice Jane Okuo – Judge of the Anti-Corruption Court; AIGP Grace Akullo - the Director of Criminal Investigations in the Uganda Police Force; Mrs. Alice K. Khaukha – the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions; and Dr. Syliva Namubiru - the Chief Executive Officer of the Legal Aid Service Providers Network (LASPNET) that explored current trends and gaps that need urgent redress. Dr. Anga R. Timilsina (Ph.D.), the Global Programme Advisor on Anti-corruption at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided a global perspective to embracing technology in anti-corruption law enforcement. The Forum was coordinated by the JLOS Secretariat, represented by the Senior Technical Advisor, Ms. Rachel Odoi-Musoke and attended by over 150 stakeholders from various government departments, civil society, the academia, development partners, and the general public.

 By Mudoi Musa

Published: October 29, 2020