Corruption is an Enemy to National Security; Brig Gen Isoke Tells Intelligence Officers

The Head of State House Anti Corruption Unit has cautioned Intelligence Officers that corruption is an enemy to national security.

Brig Gen Henry Isoke made the remarks on Thursday morning during a presentation on "Threats posed by Corruption to National Security and role of Intelligence in Mitigating the Threat," to Senior Intelligence Officers pursuing OBIC course (Officers Basic Intelligence Course) at the School of Military Intelligence, Migyera.

In his remarks, he discussed how corruption is an enemy and a threat to national security, because of its effects on the economy, environment, military and national pillars of the state.
"Specifically in the security forces, corruption, manifests in form of stealing logistics which is an obstruction to the forces' effectiveness hence threatening the country’s security posture," Brig. Gen Isoke said.

He added, that it is also seen in abuse of contracts and public procurements, backed by corrupt public elites, which ultimately leads to poor service delivery and may be a cause of civil unrest.  He highlighted the critical role Intelligence agencies play in the fight against corruption.

The Anti Graft boss said their operations are intelligence led, the reason for working closely with CMI and ISO, who give human and technical intelligence support to the Unit. 

"Additionally, Intelligence assesses internal and external threats (including corruption) and disorganizes/disrupts such activities," He added that the government has also pursued policies that increase transparency in government planning, such as decentralization, in which citizens participate in most of the government projects, including budget processes thus curbing corruption.  

Gen Isoke, urged  the Intelligence Officers, as eyes and ears of the force upon whom the nation relies,  to ensure fighting corruption is part of their routine institutional duty, and also should promote the culture of integrity, promote transparency and accountability. He underscored the need for timely Intelligence reporting/sharing on any detected threats to national security. He encouraged the young officers to be patriotic and disciplined.