Shs 600bn lost to army ghosts (how much is that in US $?)
By Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda & James Tumusiime
WEEKLY OBSERVER, 26th May 2005A High Command committee investigating ghost soldiers in the UPDF has concluded ‘ghosts’ exist in every unit of the army.
And the problem is so widespread that a former army commander said Uganda has no ‘standing army’, says the committee in its 85-page report.
According to the committee comprising Minister of Defence Amama Mbabazi, Lt. Gen. David Tinyefuza and Lt. Gen. Salim Saleh, the ghost soldier phenomenon in the UPDF dates back to the burning of Republic House (now Bulange) in 1989 and desertion of thousands to join RPA (the Rwanda Patriotic Army – now Rwanda Defence Forces) in 1990.
Consequently, an estimated 24,000 ghost soldiers have been created and Shs 600 billion lost in 13 years!
Former army commander Maj. Gen. James Kazini and other UPDF top commanders are cited in the report for the alleged creation and perpetuation of the ghosts.
The probe team appointed by the High Command on June 2, 2003 and mandated to probe the existence of ‘ghosts’ in the UPDF has already submitted its report to President Museveni who is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces.The team was also asked to probe internal wrangles in the UPDF and Maj. Gen. Kazini’s alleged creation of a semi-autonomous unit, undermining the chain of command for personal gain and use of Bihanga School to irregularly train 7,000 recruits.
The three-month inquiry discovered that several division and brigade commanders bagged billions of taxpayers’ money in dodgy payments to non-existing soldiers (ghosts).“The Committee found support for the testimony of ACOS (assistant chief of staff) when he asserted that ghosts started way back in 1989 when Republic House was burnt. For instance, the Committee established that while NRA strength was estimated at 100,000 after the RIF (reduction in force) exercise of 36,500, the strength remaining was 40,000 indicating that ghosts were about 24,000. This exposes the massive existence of ghosts in the army by 1992-95,” said the report.
The committee estimated that out of the annual wage bill release of Shs 133 billion, Shs 47.88 billion ended up in the pockets of ghost soldiers.
That discovery suggests that for the 13 years before the probe, Uganda could have been losing an estimated Shs 48 billion every year, adding up to approximately Shs 600 billion.
The money was lost to unscrupulous army officers who deliberately kept dead soldiers or deserters on the payroll. In fact, the committee notes that names of the estimated 10,000 soldiers who deserted to Rwanda in 1990 remained on the payroll.
“The above shows the magnitude of the problem. This, coupled with the fact that commanders at very high levels are involved (like the Army Commander, Chief of Staff and Unit Commanders), and the fact that the investigative and prosecution branches of the UPDF are compromised or inefficiently run, urgent and drastic measures must be taken to halt this stiff slide into anarchy and possible total collapse of UPDF,” says the report.
“Which means that if the strength as given by the Directorate of Records as of 8th October 2003 is 55,626, then the actual strength is 35,626 personnel,” it added.
To arrive at its conclusions, the committee interviewed several officers and men of the UPDF.Maj. Gen. Kazini reportedly ‘shocked’ the committee when he declared:
“You know we have been running the army because of the good politics of the President. Because that is how LDUs come in. You get surprised, where is the army? AC, fanya LDU, hapa, andika...Bunyoro/Buganda LDU... Standing Army?... Where is it?”Other officers however refused to appear before the committee and the committee didn’t hide its displeasure.
“The Committee took note of many quarrels and unbecoming behaviour among officers. Many of these officers have had quarrels amongst themselves and extended their quarrels in the public. The behaviour of brigadiers Steven Kashaka and Henry Tumukunde when they refused to appear before this Committee is a high degree of indiscipline,” the probe team pointed out.“Col. Burundi’s abandoning of his command in third division, Brig. Kashaka’s storming [of] NRC (Nakasongola Reception Centre) and taking soldiers’ pay without fear of punishment are examples of impunity,” the team added.
The committee also reports on Kazini’s conduct in the way he handled money from Nakasongola Reception Centre (NRC) and Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), as well as the repeated misappropriation of money from the 507 Brigade allegedly by then 2 Division commanding officer, Col. Potel Kivuna.
The committee recommended prosecution for implicated officers while others are to be retired in public interest.On December 1, 2003, Museveni directed that some 28 officers be tried in the General Court Martial (GCM) for offences connected to the creation and perpetuation of ghost soldiers. They include the following:
- Maj. Gen. James Kazini
- Brig. Henry Tumukunde
- Brig. Steven Kashaka
- Brig. Nakibus Lakara
- Brig. Julius Oketta
- Col. Poteli Kivuna
- Col. John Mugume
- Col. Fred Tolit
- Col. Mark Kodhil
- Col. Andrew Gutti (now brigadier).
- Lt. Col. Dura Mawa Muhindo
- Col. Steven Rwabantu
- Maj. Bakirana
- Lt. Kenneth Ayebare
The committee reports that Kazini had irregularly created 409 Brigade in 4 Division, which according to Col. Noble Mayombo’s testimony, was reporting directly to him.
They recommended further investigations into Kazini’s ‘army.’In a phone interview with The Weekly Observer, Kazini said the accusations were read to him when he appeared twice before the committee in 2003.
“I gave them my feedback,” he said – and refused to make any further comment.However, a former Kazini aide who requested anonymity said the probe report was motivated by intrigue and the desire to witch hunt and destroy the former army commander.
“That report is nothing, in fact both President Museveni and the probe committee have abandoned it because they have failed to prove that there are more than 3,000 ghosts in the UPDF, and most were created before Kazini became army chief,” he said.
“And 3,000 would be a normal figure if you consider the deaths in combat , desertions and the fact that our army has been fighting for all these years in Rwanda, D.R. Congo, the Sudan and northern Uganda,” the former Kazini aide added.
He said some names were retained on the payroll to conceal the heavy losses UPDF suffered during the Kisangani I, II and III battles against the Rwandan army. “The army had to find a way of informing and explaining to the parents that so many of their children had died. And that needed time, so the names were kept on the payroll and money continued going to their families,” he explained.
According to him, Brig. Kale Kaihura, the army political commissar, tried to verify the allegations and the results were shocking – because he could not find more than 3,000 ghosts.
“When he tried to pay soldier by soldier, he ended up having a whole brigade remaining unpaid after leaving some money in Kampala on the presumption that there were so many ghosts in the north,” the Kazini aide said.
Brig. Tumukunde on the other hand asked The Weekly Observer to leave him in peace. He said there is no way a soldier would refuse to appear before such a committee as alleged in the report. He said he served in northern Uganda, where most ghosts are said to exist, only for one year, half of which he was in Kampala on intelligence related matters.The Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, declined to give a definite comment on the details in the report when contacted.
He said cases before court martial are still going on. He also said that Maj. Gen. Kazini still has cases to answer before the court martial and that he was only spared because he was on a course in Nigeria.
The committee suggested several measures to curb ghosts, including capital punishment for some offenders.
This year, the Ministry of Defence is submitting a budget of Shs 126 billion for salaries of 63,340 soldiers.Full Report:Committee wants death penalty for ghost creators(ps: as you wade through it pay attention to the ethnicities on all sides)
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