Uganda, Dec. 8 -- A man convicted of stealing Shs700m was fined Shs800,000. The news was one of the most trending items on social media for what many saw as "mockery of justice." Basically, an official guilty of stealing public computer can be sentenced to buy a pencil as a fine and all is supposed to look well.

As many citizens stared with mouth wide open at such kind of justice, news came in that three government agencies combined had recovered Shs240b from thieving officials and returned it into the public coffers.

The "bumper harvest" covers the last three years and was the grand efforts of the Auditor General (AG), State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU) and the Inspector General of Government (IGG). SHACU recovered Shs35.5b, whil...