“Baraamrize Them All”: Public Calls Mount to Turn Minister Balaam’s Anti-Graft Crusade into a National Verb- Mr. Peter Simbi

In a passionate appeal that has begun circulating among communities in eastern Uganda, Mr Peter Simbi, a Senior analyst residing in the diaspora & identifying himself as a fellow Bamasaaba, has proposed that the name of Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi be transformed into a new English verb: “baraamrize.”

The suggestion, shared in an open letter-style opinion, comes amid growing public excitement over the minister’s high-visibility crackdown on corruption in local governments, particularly his recent operations in Namisindwa District.

“I am very excited and supportive of Minister Balaam’s relentless grassroots level efforts to expose corruption at all levels and ministries in Uganda,” Simbi wrote. He referenced a widely shared video in which a local resident from Namisindwa expressed profound gratitude, wondering aloud where President Yoweri Museveni had found such an official and why it had taken so long.

Simbi’s proposal is unambiguous. From this day forward, he argues, every corrupt government official — from the village level to the highest offices — should be “baraamrized.” The newly coined term would mean to investigate, expose, and hold accountable those who misuse public resources.

The timing of the suggestion is no coincidence. Since his appointment as Minister of Local Government on 26 May 2026, Balaam Barugahara has made anti-corruption the signature theme of his early tenure.

In Namisindwa District alone in recent weeks, the minister has ordered the closure of Namisindwa Secondary School over appalling sanitation conditions, directed the arrest of an assistant town clerk over an alleged inflated land purchase, and overseen the detention of school administrators accused of ghost workers, fund diversion, and illegal fee collection. Similar actions have been reported in neighbouring Mbale District.

These interventions have struck a chord with ordinary citizens long frustrated by the perception that local government is a byword for graft. Videos of grateful residents and public rallies have circulated widely, feeding a narrative that something different is finally happening at the grassroots.

Simbi frames the moment in almost revolutionary terms. “A revolution appears to be in the works about eradicating corruption in Uganda,” he declared, urging others to join him in elevating Balaam’s name into the language itself as a permanent reminder of accountability.

Whether “baraamrize” will enter common usage remains to be seen. Language evolves when it captures a genuine public mood, and few moods in Uganda run deeper than the desire to see public resources reach the people they are meant for. For now, the proposal stands as both a tribute and a challenge: that the standard set in Namisindwa and other districts under Balaam’s watch should become the new normal across the entire government machinery.

In the streets and on social media among the Bamasaaba and beyond, the conversation has already begun. The question Simbi posed to his readers is now being asked more widely: What do you think?