Govt fails to condemn UK sanctions, calls for negotiations

UK SANCTIONS | The Ugandan government says it looks forward to engaging with the British High Commission in Uganda and the UK government over the sanctions imposed on the Speaker of Parliament and two former ministers.

In a statement dated "Wednesday 2nd May 2024", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had learnt with "surprise" of the imposition of sanctions on "Ugandan politicians charged with corruption".

"The third person mentioned in the sanctions regime is Anita Annet Among, who is none other than the Right Honorable Speaker of Parliament of Uganda who has not been charged by the Director of Public Prosecutions in the above-mentioned cases," the statement signed by Mr John Mulimba, the minister of state for foreign affairs in charge of regional affairs, reads.

"We therefore seek to find the rationale for actions taken by the British Government in this sanctions [sic] designation."

The UK on April 30 imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Speaker Among and two former ministers for Karamoja Affairs, Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu.

The sanctions statement signed by UK deputy foreign minister Andrew Mitchell indicates that Kitutu and Nandutu embezzled thousands of iron sheets from a government-funded housing project designed to assist vulnerable communities in Karamoja.

Among was found to have benefited from the proceeds of the theft, according to London's statement.

"The UK is sending a clear message that benefiting at the expense of others is not acceptable. Corruption has consequences, and those responsible will be held accountable," Mr Mitchell said.

"The actions of these individuals, who took aid meant for those in need and kept the proceeds for themselves, represent the epitome of corruption and have no place in society."

Ms Among has protested the sanctions, calling it "politically motivated" and a "witch-hunt" against her person for her push to enact the Anti-Homosexuality Act last year.

"I'm carrying a cross for 48 million Ugandans because of the Anti-Homosexuality Act we passed in 2023," Ms Among told journalists today, Friday.

While Parliament and its head as well as several MPs have condemned the sanctions, Minister Mulimba's statement appeared vague as the foreign affairs appeared to keep its coat of diplomacy ahead of everything else.

The minister said the case referred to under the UK's Global Anti Corruptions Sanctions regime concerning former ministers Kitutu and Nandutu "glosses over the fact that the two cases had been uncovered by the government's own investigative agencies and are currently being handled under the Ugandan Courts of Law.

"The two on the charge sheet, therefore, remain under the presumption of innocence until proven guilty," the minister said.

The statement surprisingly puts Ms Among at the footnote as the "third person mentioned in the sanctions regime".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it looks forward to engaging with the British High Commission in Uganda mindful that "sovereignty remains a cardinal principle in the bilateral relations between two countries".