Beti Kamya doesn’t have to be an advocate to be IGG

On July 15,  President Museveni appointed among other officers seasoned politician cum administrator Beti Kamya as the sixth Inspector General of Government (IGG) of Uganda.  
Her appointment caused an uproar. The cause being the misconceived and or mistaken belief that the IGG must be an advocate and for that matter, Beti Kamya, a non-advocate, is merely a square peg in a round hole. I dismiss this as a fallacy.  
                       
The proponents of this talk ought to recognise the Latin maxim, “expressio unius est exclusio alterius” which is to the effect that the expression of one thing is the exclusion of another. Therefore, what is expressly provided, puts an end to what is implied.  In other words, what the law does not expressly prohibit, then it allows.

 Article 223 of the Constitution, which is in consonance with the current IGG Act inter alia, provides that there shall be an IGG with such deputies as Parliament may by law prescribe. It further provides that, one of those persons shall be a person qualifying to be a judge. For purposes of emphasis, the provision does not state anywhere that the IGG shall be a person qualifying to be a Judge or at the level of a judge and neither does it debar a judge from becoming an IGG.
Cognizant of the fact that Ms Anne Muhairwe, her deputy, is an advocate of  the High Court and with the requisite experience to be a Judge, then the President is in order and he made these appointments well within the precincts of the law.

Otherwise, if the framers of our Constitution felt that an IGG must be an advocate, at the level of a judge, they would have explicitly stated so in express terms as was done under Articles 119(2) and 120(2) in respect to the appointment of the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions respectively. 

In my view, what people should be questioning is as to whether Ms Kamya satisfies the requirements as stipulated under Article 223(5). That is; whether she is a citizen of Uganda, whether she is a person of high moral character and proven integrity and as well as whether she possesses a considerable experience, demonstrated competence and is of high caliber in the conduct of public affairs. 
 
Undoubtedly, Kamya’s curriculum vitae speaks for itself. She has been a Minister of Lands, Minister of Kampala Capital City Authority, founder President of Uganda Federal Alliance, former Presidential candidate, former Member of Parliament Lubaga North, worked with Uganda Breweries Ltd, worked with Nyanza Textile lndustries Ltd, Uganda Leather and Tanning Industry Ltd as well as the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC). In all these senior positions, she has demonstrated impeccable competence. 

In sum, the new IGG is a fit and proper person for that job. To state that because four of her former predecessors were people of high standing in the legal arena and so should their successor be, is missing a serious point as such argument is not based on any known law.  After all, Mr Augustine Ruzindana who performed exceptionally well as IGG was not an advocate.
                       

 Julius  Ssemanda,                  

   General Secretary NRM Kyotera District