Members of the African Union Advisory Board Against Corruption (AUABC) are set to meet in November in Arusha, Tanzania, to discuss the role of whistleblowers in addressing corruption on the continent.

The board's annual African anti-corruption dialogue will be held from November 7th to 8th, 2024.

In a letter to its members, signed by the body's Executive Secretary Charity Hanene Nchimunya, it was stated that the dialogue will focus on promoting the role of whistleblowing in combating African corruption.

 "The meeting will take stock of whistleblower protection in Africa, besides identifying best practices that are contributing to the fight against corruption. The dialogue will also provide recommendations to State Parties on effective whistleblower mechanisms, such as National Anti-Corruption strategies, and forge deeper relationships with other key national actors," she said.

Meanwhile, the board's member and All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) economic justice ambassador, Reverend Baxton Maulidi, highlighted the importance of the meeting for protecting whistleblowers, adding that even the church is not spared from the vice. 

"I think the time is now for the Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) to also address the corruption within the faith community. Like all sectors of society, there is too much corruption happening in the church," he claimed.

Reverend Maulidi believes there are many people willing to report corruption, but they are often met with resistance and frustration from the system. 

The theme for the 8th dialogue is “Effective Whistleblowers Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against Corruption.”