In Summary: Inspector General of Government Lady Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala has urged institutions to strengthen systems for detecting and addressing gender-related corruption, particularly sexual corruption, which she says undermines women’s and girls’ access to healthcare, education and other public services.
Kampala, Uganda — The Inspector General of Government, Lady Justice Naluzze Aisha Batala, has called for stronger institutional action against gender-related corruption, particularly in the health and education sectors, warning that women, girls and other vulnerable groups often bear a disproportionate burden of corrupt practices.
Ms Batala made the call while opening a two-day workshop on Gender and Corruption in Uganda, focusing on the health and education sectors, at Onomo Hotel in Kampala. She said corruption extends beyond the loss of public funds, stalled projects and inflated contracts to include practices that undermine people’s dignity, rights and access to essential public services.
The workshop, hosted by the Inspectorate of Government (IG), with support from the Danish Embassy in Uganda, in collaboration with the Swedish Embassy, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, brings together more than 15 stakeholders to examine how corruption affects women and men differently.
Ms Batala identified sexual corruption, in which access to services, academic grades or other opportunities is made conditional on sexual favours, as one of the particularly harmful forms of corruption affecting women and girls.
“These are not abstract issues. A mother who cannot afford an unofficial payment at a health facility, a student pressured by a person in authority, a victim who stays silent for fear of stigma or retaliation: each is a failure of integrity, and each undermines the right to health and the right to education,” she said.
She described health and education as critical sectors where citizens interact directly with the State, noting that the integrity of service delivery in these areas has a significant bearing on public trust in institutions.
The IGG urged public institutions, including the Inspectorate of Government, to examine whether their existing tools, procedures and institutional cultures are adequate to detect, receive and act on complaints involving gender-related corruption.
She acknowledged that sexual corruption is often hidden, under-reported and difficult to prove because victims may fear losing their jobs, education opportunities or reputations.
Batala called for more accessible and responsive reporting mechanisms that allow victims to report abuses without fear of intimidation, stigma or retaliation. She also pointed to the Inspectorate’s Directorate of Ombudsman Affairs, which handles complaints relating to maladministration and injustice, as an institutional mechanism for addressing grievances affecting citizens’ access to public services.
The Deputy British High Commissioner to Uganda, Tiffany Kirlew, also attended the workshop and urged participants to share their experiences and insights openly to enrich the discussions.
Kirlew expressed optimism that recommendations from the engagement would contribute to meaningful action against gender-related corruption in Uganda.
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