When the hunter is hunted, then the hunting game is over-so they say; but it also appears, for the Inspectorate of Government, when an inspector is appointed to inspect the inspectorate, then it is a signal that the watchdog game for the Inspector of General of Government (IGG), Mrs. Irene Mulyagonja, is over or could soon be over.
It is therefore not surprising that she has dusted her CV and is job hunting- just in case.
News broke, last week that the IGG, along with twenty four (24) other individuals, has been shortlisted to fill vacant positions at the Constitutional Court/Court of Appeal.
The leaked list, has since been confirmed as authentic by two sources, speaking to this reporter in confidence.
The Judicial Service Commission in March Advertised 3 openings for Constitutional Court/Court of Appeal justices and 5 openings for High Court judges. According to our sources, applicants for the Justice of Appeal/Constitutional Court will sit interviews between 20th and 24th of May 2019.
Some of the prominent names with whom Justice Mulyagonja will be competing include: High Court Judges Lawrence Gidudu, Henry Peter Adonyo, Henrietta Wolayo, and Damalie Lwanga Nantudde and Rugadya Atwooki.
She will also be competing with Christopher Gashirabake, the Deputy Solicitor General, Justice Billy Kainamura the deputy head of the Commercial Division of the High Court, and Raphael Baku, the former deputy IGG.
Twice public rebuked by the president
The IGG whose term of office has been mired in controversy- characterized by case backlogs, increased corruption perceptions and some allegations of her covering up for her friends, has been twice subjected to public scolding by the president on a number of high profile public events- in her presence.
The first time the president publicly chided the IGG was during the June 6th 2018, State of the Nation Address.
“What happened to the IGG? Why don’t the victims of corruption report those incidences of corruption to the IGG,” asked an angry Museveni.
“If it is not working, why should we keep it then? The IGG should reflect on this. Are her staff credible? Why does the public not trust that institution? We need answers,” he said.
Weeks later, the president would appoint, his former aide, Lt. Col Edith Nakalema to head a Statehouse Anti-Corruption Unit.
Just last week, the president yet again publicly scolded her for failing to fight corruption, and this time said that her office has been infiltrated by wrong elements.
Ironically, Mr. Museveni was speaking at the 9th Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa at Lake Victoria Serena, Kigo- an event, hosted by the IGG. The president, told Mulyagonja’s guests that due to persistent failures by the IGG’s office, he had been forced to appoint, Lt Col Edith Nakalema to oversee the IGG.
“I think she (IGG) was infiltrated, slowly by some groups,” he said adding that this is the reason he had to appoint a “watchman (Nakalema) to watch the watchman (IGG).”
This was an embarrassment to her.
Last year, when Lt. Col. Nakalema was appointed, the IGG said she was happy to work along with her; but the insistence by the president that Nakalema had been appointed not to assist the IGG, but rather to inspect the inspectorate, seems to be the last straw that broke the IGG’s back.
To make matters worse, it was recently reported in the newspapers that Nakalema’s Statehouse Anti-Corruption Unit, was probing some members of management and the board of the Inspectorate of Government (IG) for alleged corruption as well as illegal and irregular recruitments.
Is Mulyagonja being smart?
Mulyagonja (56) who held the position of deputy head of the Commercial Division of the High Court, before her appointment as IGG in 2012, on April 12th 2019, started her 3rd year of her second term and is ineligible for reappointment when her current term expires in 2020.
At 56 years of age, she is also 4 years shy of the official retirement age of 60 for public servants. However, judges and justices have higher retirement caps- 65 and 70 years respectively.
It is therefore not surprising that she is considering leaving her UGX37m a month job, to take on a Constitutional Court Justice job where she will earn UGX19.9 million.
According to official sources in the Judiciary, a Constitutional Court/Court of Appeal Justice earns an UGX10.5m salary. They also get an additional 40% of their basic pay as professional allowances (UGX4, 200,000) as well as a UGX5, 000,000 housing allowance. They are also entitled to UGX200, 000 as medical allowance.
But if the Uganda Judicial Officers Association (UJOA) get their salary increase wish (and president Museveni has promised it to be soon), salaries for Constitutional Court/Court of Appeal Justices could soon be increased to UGX33,000,000.
A possible higher pay, increased levels of autonomy and increased retirement age; looks like Mrs Mulyagonja could be making a smart move, but that is if she gets the job,
If she however fails to get the job, she now risks higher levels of distrust from the appointing authority (president) as well as her staff- further adding to her misery.