The fight against corruption is not just a governance issue it is a battle for the very security and legitimacy of the nation, Brig Gen Henry Isoke has told Uganda’s military intelligence trainees.
The Head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit was speaking to officers undergoing the Officer Basic Intelligence Course (OBIC) at the School of Military Intelligence and Security in Migyera, where he challenged them to see themselves as “the first line of defense” against graft.
Brig Gen Isoke warned that corruption is a corrosive force capable of undermining entire institutions. “Corruption erodes institutional legitimacy, fuels conflict, and weakens the effectiveness of security organs,” he said, stressing that vigilance and early intervention are key to preventing small acts of graft from becoming systemic rot.
“You have a sacred duty to expose, disrupt, and prevent this vice before it becomes systemic,” he told the officers, urging them to use their intelligence roles to detect and neutralize corruption risks before they spiral into crises. 
He outlined the government’s anti-corruption arsenal, including the Anti-Corruption Act, Leadership Code Act, Whistleblower Protection Act, Access to Information Act, and the Public Finance Management Act, which together provide the legal backbone for integrity in public service.
But Brig Gen Isoke also pressed for a personal, values-driven approach, framing the fight as both a professional mandate and a national calling. Quoting President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, he reminded them: “You have to fight corruption wherever you are. Fight for your portion.”
He further echoed the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who has declared that “Excellency in the military demands a resolute stance against the evils of corruption and resource management.”
Concluding his address, Brig Gen Isoke left no doubt about the stakes: “The war on corruption is not won through indifference or inaction. It is won through discipline, information, duty, and the courage to act.”
He was welcomed at the school by Commandant Col James Muhumuza.
