Picture credit: Bible Society / Clare Kendall
‘Corruption is the single most important problem facing Africa,’ says Justice Bamugemereire.
And she should know. An anti-corruption judge in Uganda, Catherine led an investigation into fraud that saw trillions of the local currency embezzled by officials over seven years, rather than go into planned road-building schemes.
Her investigation led to death threats.
‘We had death threats,’ says Catherine. ‘Once we began calling witnesses and more started coming out, the public got interested. More people came with information. But we also got the people who were not very happy.’
Threats came by text and phone. And Catherine was followed when visiting the UK last year.
‘The security forces in Uganda called me in Britain saying, “If you are in a public place, get out quietly, go back to your hotel, because we can’t guarantee your security.’
It was unsettling, she recalls. ‘At times I felt, “What I have got into?” I felt a bit frightened. But my biggest worry was what effect it would have on my family.
‘My daughter – who is studying in England – tells me that she can’t read a Ugandan paper in case she reads bad news. That breaks my heart.
‘And who might they hurt to get to me: my children and my family?
‘But I felt that this work has to go on. If I gave in to worry then they have won.’
Catherine says that her team of investigators drew strength from reading the Bible together daily.
‘My team and I read the Bible every day, not because everybody was a Christian,’ she says, ‘but I felt that they needed to know that the Word of God because there was so much fear in their hearts. It really helped, because they would always calm down when we read the Bible.’
It’s because of this that she believes that the ABLI forum has something to contribute towards the fight against corruption in Africa.
‘I would like to think that ABLI can make a difference to corruption in Africa,’ she says. ‘But sometimes I feel pessimistic.
‘We are doing well in terms of literacy. But our hearts need to change. The Word of God is powerful in changing hearts. We who are reading it need to have the attitude that it will change us. If we don’t change, it is meaningless.
‘We need to get leaders who understand the true values that are enshrined in the Bible.
‘We need to understand the suffering of the people and why they must not go hungry, why it’s immoral to see a starving child and a woman who isn’t given everything she needs at birth. We have to have the heart and soul to see that this needs to end. We have to nurture Christians to change this.’
She adds, ‘If you have accountability then there is a great chance for Africa. It has potential.
‘Here there is a lot that we can do to change people’s lives, so that we need to remove incentives from people who are misusing resources and the only way we can do this is by flooding the marketplace with people with a conscience who will speak out and see that there is change. There is hope, but it is going to be hard work.
‘Transformation is the real issue. We need to be transformed by what we have my report shocked him because we had names, facts and figures. He was jolted into speaking out. read.’
The end of Catherine’s own story is a positive one. Her commission’s report has been put before the President of Uganda. He has said that he will act on the findings and tackle corruption.
‘That makes me feel pleased,’ says Catherine. ‘My report shocked him because we had names, facts and figures. He was jolted into speaking out. It’s a reality that he has found that he has to do something about.’
Picture credit: Bible Society / Clare Kendall
Hazel Southam
