Ugandans Trust Their President Despite Perceptions of Corruption in His Office

Wambi Michael/IPS
Kemitoma Siperia Mollie, Praise Aloikin, and Kobusingye Norah appear in court early in September. They were charged with common nuisance.
9 September 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Madrine Namubiru

Most citizens say president must account to Parliament and obey courts, but many think he doesn't.

Key findings

  • An overwhelming majority (84%) of Ugandans think that at least "some" officials in the president's office are corrupt, including 43% who say that "most" or "all" of them are involved in graft. o The share of citizens who see at least "some" corruption in the Presidency has increased by 12 percentage points compared to 2019.
  • Three-quarters (75%) of respondents say the president should regularly account to Parliament about how the government spends taxpayers' money, and 79% say he must always obey the courts and laws, even if he thinks they are wrong.
  • About four in 10 citizens say the president "often" or "always" ignores Parliament (41%) and the country's courts and laws (42%).
  • Despite perceptions of corruption in the Presidency and lack of accountability by the president, more than six in 10 Ugandans (62%) say they trust the president "somewhat" or "a lot," and more than two-thirds (68%) "approve" or "strongly approve" of his performance in office.

Widespread perceptions of corruption erode public trust in government institutions and hamper investment and economic growth (Lagarde, 2018). In Uganda, corruption is a major obstacle to economic development and service delivery (Inspectorate of Government, 2022). According to a study commissioned by the Inspectorate of Government, corruption is estimated to cost the country UGX9.144 trillion (about U.S. $2.4 billion) per year, the equivalent of 23% of the annual government budget (Fazekas, Adam, & Nikulina, 2021).

Although efforts have been made to combat graft in Uganda, including the 2023 arrest of a minister charged with defrauding the public (Biryabarema, 2023), corruption continues to impose wide-ranging costs on the society (Republic of Uganda, 2023). Transparency International's (2023) Corruption Perceptions Index consistently ranks Uganda among countries with high levels of perceived corruption.

Allegations of embezzlement, bribery, and nepotism have long reached into the highest levels of the Ugandan government (Al Jazeera, 2012). Among prominent cases highlighting the extent of corruption, one scandal involved four officials from the prime minister's office who were accused of inflating the prices of COVID-19 food relief (Athumani, 2020).

While President Yoweri Museveni has declared a "zero tolerance" policy for corruption (Republic of Uganda, 2019), the former minister for the Presidency, Kabakumba Masiko, and other observers have publicly questioned his commitment to action against corruption in his own government (NTV, 2024). But on the heels of a social-media series about suspected corruption in Parliament (Samilu, 2024) and U.S. and British travel sanctions against several high-ranking government officials accused of graft (AfricaNews, 2024), Museveni signalled in his State of the Nation address that he intends to act on information about government corruption (Kahungu, 2024). Subsequently, three legislators affiliated with the ruling party and other senior civil servants have been arrested and arraigned in court (East African, 2024).

Findings from Afrobarometer's Round 9 survey in 2022 shed some light on Ugandans' perceptions of corruption in the Presidency as well as the incumbent's trustworthiness, accountability, and performance.

Citizens overwhelmingly believe that "some," "most," or "all" officials in the president's office are engaged in corruption, and this has been the majority perception for the past two decades. While most Ugandans say the president must be accountable to Parliament and obey the country's courts and laws, only about half of them say Museveni usually does so.

At the same time, a majority of citizens express trust in Museveni and approve of his performance in office.

Madrine Namubiru Madrine Namubiru is a monitoring and evaluation officer at Hatchile Consult Ltd., the Afrobarometer national partner in Uganda.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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