Uganda’s fight against corruption needs leaders bold enough to go to the ground and expose the rot.
That is exactly what Hon. Balaam Barugahara, Minister for Local Government, has been doing since President Yoweri Museveni appointed him to the docket in May 2026. And because of that, the corrupt are uncomfortable, especially for the suspects across all government systems.
The problem in service delivery in Uganda is not President Museveni. Balaam’s drive shows money gets to reach the lowest levels of our government structures. The problem is individuals entrusted with public office who abuse it.
This is why Hon. Balaam is doing the job Ugandans asked for. Since taking office, he has taken the fight to where it hurts, and the record now speaks for itself.
During an impromptu inspection at Naiku Health Centre III in Mbale District, he found that government pays salaries for 19 staff at the facility, yet only three had reported for duty by 9 a.m., and nine of those on the payroll turned out not to exist at all; records were seized to trace who had been collecting their salaries.
Still in Mbale, his team has uncovered payroll fraud and inflated enrolment figures in various schools, leading to the arrest of a headteacher implicated in the scheme.
Working jointly with State Minister Justine Nameere, he has extended a nationwide inspection drive, dubbed “Expose the Corrupt in Local Government,” into Bulambuli, Jinja, and districts across eastern Uganda, resulting in arrests of officials accused of misusing public funds.
He has also proposed ending the practice of officers serving twenty years in a single station, a pattern that has entrenched corruption networks outlasting any single administration, and has convened Chief Administrative Officers, town clerks, district chairpersons, and mayors in a national accountability summit to implement the President’s directive to root out graft in local government. That is what oversight looks like. That is what accountability looks like.
Why are some people attacking him? Simple. Corrupt people are not happy. When you block their tenders, stop their kickbacks, and name them publicly, they fight back with lies, propaganda, and even intimidation. The minister himself has said he will not be deterred, telling critics he will not be scared off by threats, including threats of witchcraft, as he continues the inspections. Hon. Balaam is touching networks that have benefited for years, so of course they will resist. But Ugandans on the ground, in Mbale, in Bulambuli, in health centres and schools across the country, are seeing the difference.
The Patriotic League of Uganda stands for discipline, service, and truth. We cannot condemn a minister for doing exactly what we elected leaders to do: serve the people and protect public resources. Hon. Balaam is not fighting government. He is protecting government from the few bad elements inside it. He is helping President Museveni deliver on the promise of service delivery to every village, and with Local Council elections now on the horizon, that promise matters more than ever.
To Ugandans: let’s stop blaming the President or the system when the problem is individuals. Let’s support leaders who go to the ground. To the corrupt: your time is up. We stand with Hon. Balaam Barugahara. Exposing the corrupt is patriotism.
The author can be reached on +256784364125
