Kisita gold mine and Col. Nakalema’s dilemma

Over the weekend we had a long chat with someone who has made a living observing and critiquing the inner workings of the high office in Uganda. We got to the topic of the boss; President Museveni creating a new anti-corruption unit in the State House headed by Col Edith Nakalema. It intends to protect investors from the predatory overtures and frustrating habits of public officials seeking bribes and other rewards before offering services in the line of duty.

Our man took a deep breath and said Col Nakalema was a well-intentioned person.  
But even for her the task was too huge, she would not only need a miracle but God would have to come and hold her hand.  He took me through several cases that started off with a bang in the past but ended in a whimper. This was despite exhausting all the legal and political processes available including the office commonly referred to as ‘above’ in that cliche, ‘orders from above’.

To understand where he was coming from, I was directed to Google the case of police officers who allegedly ‘grabbed’ a whole gold mine from an investor. I had read it in the press back then, like any other story and left it at that. The Monitor on March 13, 2020 published a story: Police officers face arrest over grabbing gold mine.

To cut the long story short, Kisita Mining Company in Kasanda/Mubende was granted a 21-yearlong mining lease in 2002. They operated but stopped in 2016 due to disagreements among the shareholders. Court battles ensued. 

In the background the Uganda Revenue Authority also came into the picture demanding unpaid taxes to the tune of about Shs1.2 billion. They sealed off the mine using private guards to get what was owed to Caesar.

Meanwhile, the Uganda Police Minerals Protection Unit (PMPU), also arrived at the scene to ensure peace, security plus law and order. In the process they chased away the taxman.

Then the classic case of Dracula in the blood bank unfolded, with the PMPU allegedly moonlighting; overseeing illegal gold mining operations as they did their day job of keeping law and ensuring compliance. By the time the shareholders ironed out most of their disputes and were ready to resume operations the mine was infested with several illegal miners. In 2018 the court issued orders for the owners of the mine to resume their operations which were ignored as happened again in 2020.

At this time the then Minister of State for Mining Sarah Opendi ran to Parliament and complained that the ‘mafia’was tracking her movements and threatening her life. That they wanted to kill her because her call for order in the mining sector was a stumbling block to their illegalities. It took two Presidential directives, one in October 2020 which was ignored and a second which saw them leave; screaming and kicking in November 2021.

But the story did not end there. The Ministry of Minerals and Energy Development then came into the picture to hand over the mine to the owners which they are yet to do. 

Interestingly Kisita’s mining license is due to expire in August 2023 and not being operational may be grounds not to renew it! But most importantly the miners who were evicted in November 2021 have allegedly returned and resumed illegal mining. When Nakalema was the head of State House Anti-Corruption Unit she once handled this matter and directed detectives ‘to arrest the CID officer attached to the Police Mineral Protection Unit, Mr Caleb Tashobya. The unit commandant, Ms Jessica Keigomba, was also interrogated for hours and asked to record a statement. She was later released on police bond,’ as reported by Kasozi.

Ironically the main shareholder who has invested millions of dollars in the venture; Horizon Energy LLC, is situated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE.) You recall that the President in January wooed investors in the UAE to come to Uganda which he described as ‘a gold mine’. My man then asked me to just imagine what went through their mind, listening to the President’s invitation. His argument is that corruption enabled by impunity is now part of the fabric. You can hardly find anyone who is not involved or related to one who is or is benefiting in some way. So, you can not touch one and leave the others without getting conflicted. The rest will resist you to protect one of their own.

But the main problem now is the one that is told in the story of the rats in the bottle. They will nimble and eat anything in their space until all is finished.

Then they will turn on one another and the powerful will eat the weaker ones in order to survive. He said that after the weaker ones are out of the way, they will then venture out to attack even creatures that are much higher.

Uganda since 1986 has had corruption stories where people steal government or donor money and property. That is running out gradually because there are many people positioning themselves at all opportunities. The cake is getting smaller. Now we are at the stage where you simply grab from private entities like we see in many land grabbing cases.

The most powerful in the land are safer if the status quo remains because it shields them from the rapacious appetites and ambitions of those who want more and more. If those who are shielded by impunity stay at this eating stage; grabbing from individuals and private companies, forever, the ones high up can sleep soundly in their domain.

That is the principle on which animal populations in protected areas work. Make sure the animals have enough to eat if not they wander out of the park and start invading humans.

The area of corruption which Nalakema has been tasked to clean up, is often largely a ‘protected area.’
Col. Nakalema has a mountain to climb.

Twitter: @nsengoba