The Inspector General of Police Gen. Kale Kayihura has on several occasions failed to save his institution’s face whenever his traffic police officers are captured in videos, which go viral on social media receiving a bribe from a drivers.
Now it has been revealed that more than 700 traffic police officers have been forced out work between 2014 and August 2017.
The revelations were made by Traffic and Road Safety spokesman, Mr Charles Ssebambulidde, who said most of the cases involved officers arrested over involvement in extortion or soliciting bribes.
Daily Monitor reported that many affected were traffic officers on roads in Kampala Metropolitan police area and on the key highways of Kampala-Masaka-Mbarara, Kampala-Jinja-Malaba, and on Kampala-Gulu.
Some of the officers relieved of traffic duties have been sent to the Field Force Unit and the General Duties Unit for redeployment. The two units are considered by most police officers as dry – a term used within the Force to mean posts without allowances or inducements.
The Uganda Police Force has been ranked the most corrupt institution in the country by various anti-corruption rating agencies. It is also among the top corrupt institutions in the East African region, according to Transparency International and Inspectorate General of Government reports.
Recently, President Museveni said traffic officers were extorting money from motorists instead of preventing road accidents.
TheUgandan encourages road users to continue exposing such vice so that appropriate action is taken.
