Ghost probe must go Sebutinde way
I have been following the current probe into the ghost soldier saga in the UPDF with a lot of interest.
For any probe into the scam to be credible, meaningful and of any use to the country, there must be an independent commission of inquiry into the affairs of the army, not only with regard to the ghost soldiers but also the sagaâs impact on the war in the North, DR Congo, and ADF rebel activities in western Uganda.
The net should be wide enough to include officers currently conducting the probe. Something similar to or even better than Justice Julie Sebutindeâs Commission of Inquiry into corruption in the Police Force.
All the army commanders to date, all the ministers of defence to date, chiefs of staff, division commanders, pay masters, etc. must be investigated about their roles in the scam. The aim should not only be to bring to justice those involved but also to recover the monies they have stolen and bar them from holding any office in future. Short of these measures and objectives, the present probe is nothing but a purge of dissenters.
Kennedy Amone-PâOlak,
Leiden University - The Netherlands.
"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the state."
- Dr. Joseph M. Goebbels - Hitler's propaganda minister
