President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has insisted that the digital motor number plates project must go on as planned, saying it will be vital in fighting crime in Uganda.
“Now, I’m insisting on the issue of electronic number plates; It will be a very big blow to crime because most of the people move to and from the scene of crime by either a vehicle or a boda boda,” said President Museveni who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF).
The President made the remarks as he passed out 2,234 Uganda Prisons Service Officers at Kololo Independence Grounds. The commissioned officers included 200 Cadet Assistant Superintendents of Prisons (CASPs),318 Cadet Principal Officers (CPOs) and 1,716 Recruit Warders and Wardresses.
Gen. Museveni noted that if the crime gap is closed through the use of digital number plates, it will be very difficult for criminals to do what they are doing now because walking to and from the crime scene will not be a walk in the park.
“All those arguments which are going on should come down and the project be done so that the issue is resolved,” he emphasized.
The CCTV cameras and the fingerprinting of the guns of the security forces are also helping in fighting crime but I hear they were not included in the army. I direct all the army guns must be fingerprinted like all the others. They can be kept separately and may be under military police but every gun must be fingerprinted,” he added.
On the other hand, President Museveni congratulated the graduates and thanked them for persevering up to the end of their training.
President Museveni also thanked the Commissioner General of the Uganda Prisons Service, Can. Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, and the Prison staff for rebuilding the Prison service from the low level up to where it is now.
“I want to thank the Commissioner General and his staff for contributing to the peace of Uganda by building the prison service from the low level of where it was to what it is now,” he noted.
According to President Museveni, the Prisons have four tasks; that is to reform the criminals, skill them so that when they get out of prison, they have skills they didn’t have before, punish according to the law and then contribute to wealth creation efforts.
President Museveni further told the graduates to protect their health embrace the knowledge they acquired from training and use it wherever they will be deployed and also be patriotic.
He promised to support the Uganda Prisons Service with equipment and any other support they will need. However, he added that he has no problem with the Prisons supplying uniforms to the armed forces but cautioned that he will not allow the importation of fabric.
President Museveni also cautioned the Prisons Service officers against indulging in corruption, in their respective tasks.
“In doing all this whether you are police, prison or the army, fight corruption because it is a disgrace and a big waste of public resources,” President Museveni warned.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Maj. Gen. (Rtd). Kahinda Otafiire congratulated the trainees and encouraged them to be patriotic in their next endeavours.
On his part, Dr. Byabashaija thanked the President for boosting the Prison service numbers, saying that it has greatly improved the performance of the force.
He also thanked the Chief Justice, His Lordship Alfonse Owiny-Dollo for reducing the number of inmates on remand compared to those on convict by offering timely justice to Ugandans.
However, Dr Byabashaija noted with concern that Uganda’s Prisons Service still has a challenge with machinery equipment like tractors to use to plough the land for agriculture.
“We cannot do sufficient farming, we have to engage the machines,” he noted.
Dr. Byabashaija cautioned the graduates to stick to the Prison Service Commission’s core values if they want their careers to be worthwhile.
The pass-out ceremony was attended by the Chief Justice, His Lordship Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Auditor General Mr John Muwanga, and senior army and police officers, among others.
