Prime
Officers under probe over police cars in own names
Under probe. AIGP Mr Lemmy Musa Twinomugisha. One of the cars, registration number UAX 788L, is said to be registered in his name. PHOTO BY ALEX ESAGALA.
What you need to know:
Fraud? Out of nine vehicles procured for the Directorate of Criminal Investigation between 2015 and 2017, only two were registered as police vehicles.
An investigation into circumstances under which seven vehicles belonging to the Uganda Police Force (UPF) were registered under the names of senior police officers is ongoing, Sunday Monitor has learnt.
The investigation, knowledgeable sources say, was ordered by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martins Okoth Ochola.
The issue came up in August after a whistleblower wrote to Mr Ochola detailing how the officers got the vehicles procured that were supposed to belong to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and registered them in their names between 2015 and 2017.
Out of the nine vehicles procured for the directorate during that time, only two were registered as police vehicles.
When Mr Ochola raised the matter with the concerned officers, sources at police headquarters at Naguru say, some of the officers surrendered the vehicles to the police after years of putting them to personal use.
Mr Ochola, the sources say, has directed that the seven senior police officers be investigated to establish how they registered police cars in their names.
Asked for details about the investigation, police spokesman Emilian Kayima said: “Yes, there is an on-going investigation. When it is finalised we shall share the findings as we always do.”
The vehicles
Sunday Monitor has seen a copy of the detailed list police obtained from the Uganda Revenue Authority’s motor vehicle database. One of the cars, for example, registration number UAX 788L, is registered in the name of Mr Lemmy Musa Twinomugisha. Mr Twinomugisha, popularly known as Twino, is an Assistant Inspector General of Police and was the director Parliamentary Police for many years during Gen Kale Kayihura’s reign as the police chief.
Another vehicle, registration number UAX 831N, is registered in the name of Rogers Muhirwa. Mr Muhirwa is the Undersecretary in charge of Finance in the UPF.
The other vehicles include registration UAX 032E registered in the name of senior police officer Stephen Kagoda Ibanda, registration number UAX 067X registered in the name of Joseph Nuwagaba, registration number UAX 258V registered in the name of Lydia Kisembo Ssozi, registration number UAX 960E registered in the name of Isaac Kyaligonza, and registration number UAX 019J registered in the name of James Apora.
Mr Twinomugisha and Mr Muhirwa were relieved of their roles as members of the Police Classified Procurement Committee early this year by President Museveni. The duo was cited in procurement of a fake bomb detector for the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, at a cost of Shs400m.
Some of the vehicles that had been registered in individuals’ names have since been returned and are now parked at the police’s transport office on Old Port Bell Road.
When contacted for a comment, AIGP Twinomugisha confirmed that seven vehicles had indeed been registered in the names of the seven police officers, who were on the Police Classified Procurement Committee.
“This was done to provide cover to officers who would be using the vehicles. It is dangerous for an undercover officer to use a vehicle in police names; it would endanger his life. That is why we gave that obvious cover,” Mr Twinomugisha said.
Mr Twinomugisha, however, was leading the police at Parliament when the vehicle was registered under his name. His assignment, just like the assignment of Mr Muhirwa (Undersecretary), for instance, was not of a clandestine nature.
Mr Twinomugisha said, however, that the vehicles, even if they were registered under their names, were being used by undercover operatives on clandestine missions.
It is not clear why it was decided to register the vehicles under the names of these particular officers, and whether it was registered anywhere in the police’s records that whereas these individuals had the vehicles registered under their names, the vehicles belonged to the UPF.
“Let people not confuse you,” Mr Twinomugisha said. “There is no story there, because everything was done in the light. Even the former IGP (Gen Kayihura) was well in the know that those vehicles were registered in the names of the seven officers.”
Mr Twinomugisha, however, confirmed that there was an ongoing investigation, but added that the officers involved had not been asked to explain themselves.
“How can you make a report without interfacing with the people who are involved in the subject matter,” Mr Twinomugisha, who is the current director of police welfare, wondered.
He blamed the saga on in-fighting among individual senior officers.
“The vehicle registered in my name was never meant for my personal use; actually as we talk, I have already handed it over to the director of logistics, Mr [Godfrey] Bangirana, and he has given me an acknowledgement certificate.
According to him, some of the vehicles are yet to be handed over because they are still out on deployment in various parts of the country.
