The new unit will help fight corruption in the country despite the existence of the Inspectorate of Government (IGG) whose core mandate is to curb the vice.

The president announced the unit in June which would be led by James Tweheyo, Martha Asiimwe and Sister Akiror.

The unit will work directly with the president's office.

Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index which was released early this year shows Uganda now sits in 151st place (of 180 territories).

Bribery concern

The president's address comes barely days after a former Hong Kong politician was convicted of corrupting African officials, including Museveni and his Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kuteesa.

The court found Patrick Ho Chi-ping guilty of paying thousands of dollars worth $500,000 in bribes to secure oil rights for a Chinese energy conglomerate.

He told court the transactions were documented as charitable donations and there was "no attempt to hide what he was doing".

The government of Uganda has described the involvement of its officials in Patrick Ho's scheme as "erroneous".

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