By: Alex A. Bah, Ag. Public Relations Officer, ACC
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on the 12th January, 2025 hosted Professor Helen Nambalirwa Nkabala, Director of Africa’s premier Rotary Peace Center and Principal of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda, during an official engagement held in the Conference Room, 3rd Floor, Integrity House, Freetown.
Welcoming her to the Commission, the Commissioner of the ACC Francis Ben Kaifala Esq. expressed appreciation for her visit and underscored its significance to the Commission’s continuing efforts to strengthen integrity systems and Sierra Leone’s governance landscape. He assured her of the Commission’s commitment to fostering sustainable partnerships between the ACC, the Rotary Peace Center, and Makerere University, particularly in research, leadership development, and capacity-building initiatives for staff.
In her remarks during the courtesy call, Professor Nkabala conveyed warm greetings from the leadership of Makerere University and its Vice Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, and commended the ACC’s remarkable strides in promoting accountability and public integrity in Sierra Leone. She emphasized the vital role of universities in supporting governance institutions and noted that Makerere University has “moved from the ivory tower to the communities, because peace is built within communities.”
She expressed openness to collaborate with the ACC through institutional exchanges, specialized professional training programmes, and the design of courses tailored to the Commission’s mandate, particularly in integrity management and governance reform.
Professor Nkabala also engaged the ACC Management, including Directors and Deputy Directors, in an interactive session on leadership, peacebuilding, ethics, and anti-corruption strategies. She highlighted the contributions of recent Rotary Peace Fellows from Sierra Leone, noting that they were trained in mediation, negotiation, and conflict transformation, skills she described as essential to advancing the work of the Commission.
Chairing the engagement, the Deputy Commissioner of the ACC, Augustine Foday Ngobie, expressed delight at the growing relationship between the ACC and Makerere University. He reaffirmed the Commission’s readiness to explore opportunities for academic collaboration, staff exchanges, and targeted capacity-building.
He explained that the ACC’s work revolves around prevention, public education, and enforcement, with particular emphasis on prevention. He further identified social safety nets, asset declaration, and accountability systems as priority areas where tailored professional training and academic partnership would be invaluable.
As part of her visit, Professor Nkabala is scheduled to travel to the ACC Eastern Regional Office in Kenema to familiarize herself with regional operations. She will also interact with leadership and faculty of Eastern Technical University and Fourah Bay College, where discussions will focus on doctoral scholarship opportunities, academic collaboration, and institutional partnerships.
Her visit is expected to deepen cooperation between Sierra Leone and Makerere University and reinforce the strong linkage between anti-corruption, peacebuilding, civic education, and national development.
