Counter terrorism takes over of four police units

Adjustment. The Inspector General of Police put Tourism, Aviation, Intelligence and VIPPU units under the command of Counter Terrorism Police.

The Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura, has ordered Aviation, Tourism and two other police units to be put under the management of the Counter Terrorism Police.

Gen. Kayihura said the units are very critical to the country’s economy and its stability therefore cannot be left in the hands of officers under general duties.

“We decided to put Aviation, Tourism, Intelligence and VIPPU under you (Counter Terrorism Police) because they need specialised personnel who can deal with the new threats, especially terrorism,” Gen. Kayihura said.

This was at the pass out of 184 officers of the Tourism Police Unit at the Police Training School Kabalye in Masindi District on Friday.
Other units now under the Counter Terrorism Police are the Intelligence and Very Important People Protection units.

Aviation Police is in charge of border security while VIPPU protects important people such as ministers, judicially officials and MPs.
Intelligence, which was under the Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Directorate, is now under Counter Terrorism Directorate that replaced a disbanded Special Branch.

Gen. Kayihura said tourism is one of the highest income contributors to the economy and any laxity in protecting tourists and tourists sites can impact negatively on the country’s income.

“Egypt which used to get tourists in millions before the Arab Springs is now struggling to attract tourists because of attacks on tourists. It is important that we develop this unit so that we can protect these income generating sectors,” Gen. Kayihura said.

Although the Director of Counter Terrorism, Mr John Ndungutse, thanked the police chief for accepting to fund the training of officers from specialised units, he said the funding generally is still meagre.

“The directorate also requires urgent training in other critical specialised areas like Crisis Response Team and bomb disposal,” he said
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