Dr. Ayub Mukisa: From Fear of Witchcraft to the Fight Against Corruption: Making the Impossible Possible

The fight against corruption in Uganda is changing, and it has shifted dramatically under President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. We are witnessing bold operations, including “Operation Maliza Ufisadi,” meaning “Operation End Corruption,” which was led by the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also Senior Presidential Advisor (Special Operations). Alongside this, the current efforts by Hon. Balaam Barugahara and Justine Nameere are giving real hope to Ugandan taxpayers.

However, an unexpected issue continues to arise among citizens and supporters of these anticorruption crusaders: witchcraft. People keep asking whether these crusaders fear being bewitched or whether they worry about the occult practices allegedly used by some cornered civil servants. Many may wonder why I raise the issue of witchcraft at a time when local government officials are under intense pressure. Yet history and evidence suggest that witchcraft is often used during times of crisis as a desperate means of protection or problem solving when ordinary methods fail.

For example, Motsepe and Sikhosana, in their 2025 study, Jealousy, Witchcraft, and the Fragility of Success, argued that witchcraft remains highly relevant in governance and institutional dynamics. Likewise, Adolfsson, Banik, and Dulani (2024) revealed that witchcraft functions as a form of informal political technology used to covertly guard authority. This argument forms the basis of our position at the Karamoja Anticorruption Coalition (KACC) Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis. We must ask: Have our anticorruption crusaders finally stopped fearing witchcraft and instead chosen to fearlessly expose corruption in local government?

We ask this because Associate Professor Paul Isiko Alexander, in his 2019 research on witchcraft in Uganda, observed that Africans from all backgrounds, regardless of education, the rural and urban divide, gender, or status, including politicians, scientists, and pastors, still believe witchcraft is a real threat. Yet the bold manner in which the corrupt are currently being exposed suggests that the impossible is becoming possible.

Writing in Watchdog News on July 20, 2026, Dr. Opul Joseph stated that Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara has exposed widespread inefficiencies across our districts. Opul described Balaam as the fearless lion of the universal anticorruption revolution that the NRM’s 40 year rule has long yearned for. I add my voice to this assessment. Balaam’s fearless approach demonstrates that confronting entrenched corruption in local government is possible, and it represents a turning point in Uganda’s anticorruption efforts.

Ayub Mukisa, PhD
Executive Director, Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition (KACC)
Email: ayubmukisa@gmail.com

 

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