A well-known way for African politicians to boost their personal finances is to do so under the cover of confidential defence purchases. Defence equipment is purchased for the country at a very high price, the country’s treasury pays for the equipment at an even higher price, and the difference is somehow absorbed under the cloak of national security which must of necessity apply to anything as sensitive as defence force purchases.
It transpires that the Ugandan Ministry of Defence has withdrawn $740 million from the Bank of Uganda to buy six fighter jets. The withdrawal was not authorised by the parliament, but it occurred on the instructions of the president. It further transpires that Russia has sold 22 jets to Uganda and Algeria for $1.2 billion. Assuming the jets were all of the same value, this means they were worth $54.5 million each, so that Uganda’s six jets were worth a total of $327 million.
All of which gives rise to the awkward question: what happened to the other $413 million? Interestingly, it is reported that the president’s recent re-election campaign cost around $400 million, and there was much speculation as to where the money might be coming from. The Ugandan military has suffered a string of bad luck in recent years, purchasing 4 MI-24 helicopters which did not work, a consignment of malfunctioning guns, a large quantity of army uniforms that were too small, and 90 tanks of which 80 were unserviceable.