Exclusive Interview: UHRC Chairperson Mariam Wangadya Breaks Silence on Petition, Corruption Allegations and Internal Commission Wrangles

By NileChronicles.com Reporter

The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has recently found itself at the center of a public controversy following a petition reportedly submitted by some commissioners to President Yoweri Museveni and the Inspector General of Government (IGG). The petition accuses the Commission's Chairperson, Ms. Mariam Fauzat Wangadya, of financial misconduct, irregular salary enhancements, abuse of office and other administrative improprieties.

In an exclusive interview with nilechronicles.com, Wangadya dismissed the allegations as false and malicious, instead accusing some of her fellow commissioners of corruption, abuse of office and attempting to derail reforms within the Commission.

Below are excerpts from the interview.

Reporter: Commissioners have petitioned President Museveni and the Inspector General of Government accusing you of financial misconduct, abuse of office and irregular salary enhancements. How do you respond?

Mariam Wangadya: These are not people of integrity or any moral standing. They are criminals, human rights violators, corrupt, and of extremely questionable moral standing.

Reporter: Those are very strong accusations. Why do you describe them in those terms?

Mariam Wangadya: This is the calibre of people who are behind the illegal sale of the Commission's property on Buganda Road.

This is the calibre that was pushing for the sharing of a Shs10 billion supplementary budget among themselves and insisting the money should not be used for the Commission's mandate, as was budgeted.

Reporter: You are suggesting there has been financial impropriety within the Commission. What specifically are you referring to?

Mariam Wangadya: These are the people who claim per diems for Commission activities they never attend.

These are people who have been conniving with so-called victims, making money from compensations as single-member tribunals.

Reporter: Have you personally experienced pressure from some of these commissioners?

Mariam Wangadya: Yes. These are people who put me under immense pressure to give them Commission funds to run their individual political campaigns.

They are the same fellows who use official vehicles for their personal political campaign activities, they bash them and ask for new vehicles.

Reporter: You have also mentioned misconduct involving staff. Could you elaborate?

Mariam Wangadya: They are the same people who sexually harass staff and members.

Reporter: Have there been attempts to influence how you manage the Commission financially?

Mariam Wangadya: This is the same clique that was pushing me to bribe or offer kickbacks to public officials to secure a bigger budget for the Commission.

Reporter: There have previously been discussions about merging the Uganda Human Rights Commission with the Equal Opportunities Commission. Did that contribute to the disagreements?

Mariam Wangadya: They are the same clique that worked with some Parliamentarians to frustrate the merger of the UHRC and the Equal Opportunities Commission. They see it as a threat to their contracts and positions.

Reporter: You have also alleged that you have been personally targeted. What do you mean?

Mariam Wangadya: They are the same people who have been branding me a homosexual and a foreign agent simply because I often say every Ugandan deserves equal protection under the law.

Sometimes even my silence and civility threatens them. They try to access my personal devices and they try to compromise my gadgets. That is how desperate they are.

Reporter: Are you saying your safety has also been threatened?

Mariam Wangadya: They've intimidated me. They've threatened to harm me and extended their threats against my life.

When I convene a Commission meeting, they show up with guns; they issue threats that they will kill you.

Reporter: Why have you chosen to speak publicly now?

Mariam Wangadya: The greatest pain is that these conversations are meant to remain within the proper institutional spaces, but these same people take them out, and sometimes the unsuspecting media publish the allegations, unaware that they are being used as vehicles for smear campaigns.

When you choose restraint over public confrontation, the smear merchants often win the first round in the court of public opinion. Reputations are tarnished in a day, but restoring them can take a lifetime.

Reporter: Given everything that has happened, do you have any regrets?

Mariam Wangadya: But I can never regret doing the right thing.

I shall not be intimidated into silence. I shall continue to call out the corruption of these so-called members and their accomplices. I shall continue to call out their criminality wherever it hides, however powerful they may pretend to be, and whatever labels they choose to throw at me.

Again, I can never regret doing the assignment that His Excellency asked me to do. History has never been kind to those who protected corruption, impunity or criminality. It has always reserved its respect for those who had the courage to confront it.