I can’t get a job of my choice – Deputy IGG

The deputy Inspector General of Government (IGG), Dr Patricia Achan Okiria, has spoken about her struggles in securing jobs of her choice in Uganda despite numerous applications.

Speaking over the weekend at Gulu University, Achan revealed that since graduating from Makerere University in 2000, she has never been shortlisted for any job she applied for.

While she did not directly attribute her struggles to her current ombudsman role, she expressed a long-held ambition to serve on the judiciary bench. Her most recent application for the position of Justice of Appeal was also unsuccessful.

Achan noted that all her government appointments resulted from headhunting, starting with her first job as a research assistant at a Kampala-based legal firm shortly after graduation. She recounted how a lecturer who supervised her research paper connected her to his wife’s law firm, leading to her first job.

“He called me to his office and said, ‘Patricia, you are an outstanding researcher, Go to my wife, she has a job for you’,” she recalled.

Within three months, she had saved enough to sponsor herself at the Law Development Centre (LDC), where she obtained a diploma in Legal Practice. She later joined the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) as a legal consultant, a position she held for six months before her contract expired. She continued volunteering at the Commission before securing a permanent role as a human rights officer.

“When they reviewed my performance as a volunteer, I was supposed to be a research assistant too, but everyone wanted me to work with them. They posted me to the Gulu office,” she added.

While in Gulu, Achan was called to work with the Directorate of Ethics and Integrity, where she drafted several reforms before being transferred to the ministry of Works and Transport. As the policy and legal advisor with the ministry of Works and Transport, Achan significantly contributed to reviving the defunct Uganda Airlines.

“I instituted a 12-member committee to guide the comeback of Uganda Airlines until we reached the purchase agreement when we dissolved the committee. Although the board wanted me to become the executive director to manage the airline, I declined,” she noted.

But it did not take her long to depart for another job, this time directly from President Museveni, who appointed her as the deputy IGG until today.

“I received a phone call from the President saying, ‘Dr Patricia, I am going to give you another job to help me fight corruption.’ Two months later, I heard I was appointed, but there was nothing to show because there wasn’t such an appointment letter,” she recalls.

“I met the Justice minister Gen Kahinda Otafiire and asked him. “Minister, I heard that the President has appointed me. Is it true? Otafiire just asked me, ‘You mean you haven’t picked your appointment after two months?’ He laughed and said, ‘go and pick your appointment’,” she noted.

FIGHTING CORRUPTION 

Regarding corruption, Achan highlighted challenges in investigations, particularly cases where whistleblowers were previously involved in corrupt dealings but only reported after falling out with their accomplices. Uganda reportedly loses about Shs 9 trillion annually to corruption, but Achan noted that Shs 17 billion has been recovered in the last two quarters.

She stressed the need for integrity-based education from an early age to instill accountability in future leaders.

“Corruption occurs when values degenerate; a human being is capable of doing bad things once we lose values. But we need to involve the learner to fight corruption. These children will become enemies of the state if we leave them behind,” she further argues.

Gulu University vice chancellor, Prof George Openjuru Laddah, echoed her sentiments, emphasizing that early value-based education is crucial in combating corruption.

“When they join universities, it’s easy to broaden their thinking if they have acquired these values as early as possible, but I see many of these students making an impact on our university through leadership skills and being accountable for their actions,” Openjuru noted.

Achan, a seasoned lawyer, has contributed extensively to Uganda’s legal frameworks, particularly in human rights law, anti-corruption efforts, and governance reforms. Her work includes drafting human rights manuals for security agencies and spearheading the development of key anti-corruption laws.