By Karim Were
Inspectorate of Government says 37% of complaints concluded in FY2025/26 were Ombudsman-related as it prepares nationwide clinics, service-delivery inspections and a Parliament dialogue
KAMPALA, Uganda —The Inspectorate of Government (IG) is set to intensify its engagement with citizens in October as Uganda joins the international community to commemorate International Ombuds Day, with a particular focus on resolving administrative injustices, improving public service delivery and strengthening accountability in government institutions.
The IG says it will use the 2026 commemoration to increase public awareness of the Ombudsman function and bring complaint-resolution services closer to citizens through a nationwide media campaign, community outreach clinics, public-service spot checks and high-level engagement with Parliament.
International Ombuds Day will be commemorated on *Thursday, October 8, 2026*, while the second week of October has been designated **Ombuds Action Week* in Uganda.
The campaign will be conducted under the theme *“Ombuds: Office of Options, alongside the national slogan TalkToTheOmbudsman.
According to the Inspectorate, the initiative is intended to demonstrate that citizens facing administrative problems do not necessarily have to resort immediately to costly and adversarial legal processes. Instead, they can seek assistance through the Ombudsman function, which can use mechanisms such as mediation, early advice, informal intervention and recommendations to address grievances.
The IG made the announcement on October 5, 2026, as Uganda prepared for the annual international observance.
#Ombudsman role goes beyond fighting corruption
The Ombudsman function is often associated with the fight against corruption because the Inspectorate of Government has a broader constitutional mandate to promote accountability and integrity in public administration.
However, the Inspectorate says its Ombudsman responsibility specifically focuses on protecting citizens from maladministration and ensuring that public institutions follow the law and principles of fairness.
In Uganda, the Ombudsman mandate is vested in the Inspectorate of Government under **Chapter 13 of the 1995 Constitution** and operationalised through the Inspectorate of Government Act.
The function includes promoting adherence to the rule of law and principles of natural justice in public administration, addressing abuse of authority and office, resolving complaints involving maladministration and delays in service delivery, and promoting transparency and accountability across government ministries, departments, agencies and local governments.
The Inspectorate argues that these responsibilities also have a direct connection to the fight against corruption.
Where government rules and procedures are ignored, citizens may face arbitrary decisions, unnecessary delays or unfair treatment. The IG says addressing such administrative weaknesses can therefore help close opportunities through which corruption and abuse of authority thrive.
The institution has consequently positioned the Ombudsman as an important link between citizens and the state.
#Administrative complaints remain significant
The Inspectorate says administrative injustice remains a major challenge affecting public confidence in government institutions.
During the **Financial Year 2025/2026*, Ombudsman-related matters accounted for *37% of all complaints investigated and concluded by the Inspectorate*, according to figures presented during the October 5 briefing.
The IG said many of these complaints originate at the local-government level, where citizens have direct and frequent contact with public services.
The complaints cover a wide range of issues.
Among the most common are delays involving salaries, pensions and gratuities; irregular calculation or non-payment of employment benefits; delays in obtaining government documents and accessing public services; irregular recruitment processes; malicious interdictions; and alleged victimisation of whistleblowers.
Citizens have also reported difficulties associated with obtaining National Identity Cards, land titles and passports, as well as problems involving access to government payroll systems.
Such complaints can have consequences beyond individual disputes.
For example, a delayed pension or gratuity may affect a retired public servant’s ability to meet household expenses, while delays in processing official documents can prevent citizens from accessing other government services or exercising economic opportunities.
The Inspectorate therefore says resolving administrative complaints is not simply an institutional exercise but part of improving the quality and efficiency of public administration.
#IG resolves 1,011 Ombudsman cases
The Inspectorate reported that it successfully resolved *1,011 Ombudsman cases* across central and local government entities during the 2025/2026 financial year.
It also said its interventions resulted in recommendations for the payment of *UGX 2,353,472,702* to individuals whose employment benefits had allegedly been withheld or denied.
The figures provide an indication of the financial impact that administrative disputes can have on individual citizens and public institutions.
They also highlight the role of the Ombudsman in seeking administrative remedies without requiring every grievance to become a court case.
The IG’s approach is based on the principle that some disputes can be resolved more efficiently when the affected citizen, the responsible government institution and the oversight body engage directly to establish what went wrong and determine an appropriate remedy.
However, the effectiveness of such a system ultimately depends on government agencies responding to recommendations and correcting identified administrative shortcomings.
This is one reason the Inspectorate intends to use the 2026 commemoration to strengthen collaboration with other public institutions.
#Ombuds Action Week to bring services closer to citizens
A central component of this year’s activities will be the **Ombuds Action Week, scheduled for the second week of October.
All *16 IG regional offices* are expected to conduct simultaneous community-level Ombuds clinics and outreach activities.
The clinics will provide an opportunity for citizens to present complaints directly to officials and, where possible, have them addressed during the outreach exercises.
The Inspectorate says partner institutions will also participate in the activities to help resolve grievances that fall within their respective mandates.
The participating institutions will include the *Judicial Service Commission, National Identification and Registration Authority and Uganda Police Force, alongside local-government officials.
The involvement of several institutions is intended to address a practical challenge faced by citizens: government services are often spread across different agencies, meaning that a complaint may require intervention from more than one institution.
Bringing relevant agencies together could therefore make it easier for citizens to identify the appropriate authority and obtain guidance on unresolved complaints.
Local government teams, including Resident District Commissioners, Chief Administrative Officers and district chairpersons, are also expected to participate.
#Public-service points to face spot checks
The Inspectorate will also conduct spot checks at selected public-service delivery points during the October activities.
IG regional teams will work alongside Resident District Commissioners, district chairpersons and mayors to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of public services.
The inspections are expected to provide an opportunity to identify administrative bottlenecks before they develop into more serious complaints.
They will also allow the Inspectorate and local leaders to observe how government services are being delivered at the point where citizens interact with the state.
This approach is particularly relevant at local-government level, where the IG says a significant proportion of Ombudsman complaints originate.
The exercise could cover issues such as delays, accessibility of services, adherence to administrative procedures and responsiveness to citizens.
The broader objective is to move beyond resolving complaints after harm has occurred and strengthen systems that can prevent recurring administrative problems.
#Parliament engagement planned
Another major component of the programme will be a high-level dialogue with the Speaker of Parliament and parliamentary leadership.
The IG says the engagement is intended to leverage Parliament’s legislative and oversight powers to support implementation of Ombudsman recommendations and increase awareness of the Ombudsman function.
Parliament’s role is significant because recommendations arising from administrative investigations may require broader institutional or policy responses.
Where a problem reflects a recurring weakness in public administration rather than an isolated dispute, legislative and oversight intervention can help address the underlying issue.
The planned dialogue therefore provides an opportunity for the Inspectorate to discuss the implementation of its recommendations and the broader need for stronger administrative accountability.
#International roots of the Ombudsman system
Uganda’s 2026 observance is part of a wider international recognition of the Ombudsman’s role in protecting citizens and improving public administration.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted *Resolution 72/186 on December 19, 2017**, titled *The Role of the Ombudsman, Mediator and Other National Human Rights Institutions in the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights*. The resolution was adopted without a vote.
The UN resolution recognised the constructive role of Ombudsman and similar institutions in promoting and protecting human rights and highlighted the importance of effective, independent mechanisms for addressing grievances.
The international recognition reflects a broader understanding that access to justice does not depend exclusively on formal court proceedings.
For many citizens, particularly those with limited financial resources or limited knowledge of legal procedures, administrative complaint mechanisms can provide a more accessible avenue for challenging unfair treatment by public authorities.
The Ombudsman model is therefore designed to strengthen the relationship between citizens and government by creating a mechanism through which administrative decisions and conduct can be questioned.
#Office of Options
The 2026 theme, “Ombuds: Office of Options,” places this accessibility at the centre of the year’s activities.
The message is that the Ombudsman should not be viewed simply as an institution to approach after all other options have failed.
Instead, the Inspectorate wants citizens to see the Ombudsman as a potential first point of assistance when they encounter administrative injustice, unreasonable delays or unfair treatment in public administration.
The approach is particularly important in circumstances where a citizen may not have the financial means to pursue prolonged litigation.
Through mediation, informal intervention, advice and recommendations, an Ombudsman can sometimes facilitate a resolution without the cost and complexity associated with formal proceedings.
This does not remove the role of courts or other statutory institutions. Rather, it provides another mechanism through which citizens can seek administrative redress.
#Nationwide media campaign planned
The Inspectorate will also conduct a nationwide media awareness campaign throughout October.
The campaign will include television and radio talk shows as well as social-media content highlighting the Ombudsman mandate and examples of cases in which reported administrative injustices were corrected.
The IG says the campaign is designed to ensure that citizens understand their rights and know where to seek help when they encounter administrative problems.
Awareness remains an important component of access to justice because an oversight mechanism cannot assist citizens who do not know that it exists or do not understand the types of complaints it can handle.
The national campaign will therefore complement the physical outreach clinics by taking information about the Ombudsman function to a wider audience.
#Strengthening public trust
The Inspectorate’s 2026 programme comes at a time when public institutions face growing expectations to deliver services efficiently, transparently and fairly.
For citizens, trust in government is often shaped by everyday interactions with public officials rather than by national policies alone.
A person waiting for a pension, seeking a land title, applying for an identity document or attempting to resolve a workplace dispute may judge the effectiveness of government primarily by how that particular case is handled.
Administrative justice therefore has a direct connection to public confidence.
The IG says the expected overall outcome of the October activities is increased public awareness and understanding of its role as Uganda’s Ombudsman, alongside stronger promotion of good governance, accountability, transparency and protection of citizens’ rights.
The success of the campaign, however, will ultimately depend not only on the number of complaints received but also on whether grievances are resolved, recommendations implemented and recurring administrative failures corrected.
#A broader accountability challenge
The Ombuds Day campaign provides Uganda with an opportunity to examine how public institutions respond to ordinary citizens.
The reported *1,011 cases resolved during FY2025/26* and the *UGX 2.35 billion recommended for payment* demonstrate that administrative complaints can have tangible consequences for citizens.
At the same time, the fact that Ombudsman-related matters represented 37% of complaints concluded by the Inspectorate indicates that administrative justice remains a substantial area of concern.
The October activities are therefore intended to go beyond commemorating an international day.
Through community clinics, institutional partnerships, public-service inspections, media awareness and engagement with Parliament, the Inspectorate is seeking to make the Ombudsman function more visible and accessible.
For citizens, the central message of the 2026 campaign is captured in the national slogan #TalkToTheOmbudsman.
For government institutions, the programme presents a parallel challenge: to respond to legitimate complaints, follow administrative procedures and ensure that public services are delivered fairly and efficiently.
As Uganda joins the international community in observing International Ombuds Day on October 8, the effectiveness of the initiative will ultimately be measured by whether citizens who raise genuine grievances receive meaningful responses and whether public institutions learn from the administrative failures identified.
That, in turn, could help strengthen the relationship between citizens and the state and reinforce the principle that public administration should serve citizens fairly, transparently and according to the law.
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