IGP Ochola returns power to commanders

Kampala. The new Inspector General of Police, Mr Martins Okoth-Ochola, has merged two police directorates and transferred the supervision of 15 units in an administrative re-organisation that divested power from his office.
The affected units had been reporting directly to his predecessor, Gen Kale Kayihura, who was sacked on March 4 after leading the Force for 12 years.

Okoth-Ochola has given line directors one week to provide detailed reports to aid the transitions.
These changes were made on Sunday, but announced yesterday, hours after the IGP shook up the police top brass and in the process overturned Gen Kayihura’s last high-level transfers.

In a message sent to all police units yesterday, Mr Ochola collapsed the Oil and Gas directorate into a division and placed it under the Directorate of Counter-Terrorism that he recalled FBI-trained Abasi Byakagaba to superintend.
The administrative variations reverted command and control of fifteen key police units, previously concentrated under the IGP’s office, to the directorates of Operations, Criminal Investigations and Crime Intelligence.

All police regions, the Anti-Stock Theft, Canine, Air Wing, Railway, Environmental Protection, Marine, Mineral Protection, Presidential Protection Group and Agricultural units will be supervised by the Operations directorate, according to the changes.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is now in-charge Flying Squad, Criminal Case File Tracking Task Force and Special Investigations units.
Criminal Case File Tracking Taskforce, headed by Senior Superintendent of Police Mark Odongo, has been handling big-ticket criminal cases previously managed by CID headquarters.

Surveillance and Special Operations are now under the Directorate of Crime Intelligence while Cyber Crime Unit will be supervised by Forensic Services directorate.
The re-organisation, insiders say, has caused panic among senior police officers since many in merged units had been duplicating roles.
The units have also been operating on individual substantial budgets and more-or-less independent of each other, resulting in duplication, wastage and rivalry.

These administrative shake ups by IGP Ochola signal a shift from micro-managing operations to relieving the IGP of day-to-day administrative matters to concentrate on strategic issues, according to senior officers who spoke on condition of anonymity.
At the graduation of senior officers at Police Senior Command and Staff College Bwebajja recently, Gen Kayihura said there was a big disconnect between police headquarters and on-ground commanders. He did not say why.
In June 2017, Mr Ochola, who was then sitting in for Gen Kayihura, said the role of the IGP is to “wait for reports from commanders and provide consultancy where they need help”.

Postings

Officers Positions
AIGP Edward Ochom Research, Planning and Deployment
AIGP Grace Akullo Criminal Investigations
AIGP Grace Turyagumanawe Peace Support
AIGP John Ndungutse Attaché, Uganda’s High Comm in Nairobi
AIGP Godfrey Bangirana Logistics and Engineering
AIGP Atwooki Ndahura Crime Intelligence
AIGP Asuman Mugenyi Operations
AIGP Abbas Byakagaba Counter Terrorism
AIGP Andrew Sorowen Attaché, Ministry of Education
AIGP Steven Kasiima Traffic and Road Safety
AIGP Joseph Mugisa Fire Prevention and Emergency Rescue
AIGP Haruna Isabirye Human Resource Development
AIGP Lemmy Twinomugisha Welfare and Production
AIGP Erasmus Twaruhukwa Human Rights and Legal Services
AIGP Dr Byaruhanga Moses Police Health Services
AIGP Francis Rwego E.A police representative at the African Union
AIGP Ahmed Wafuba Head, Police Reserve Force
Mr Amos Ngabirano Information Communication & Technology
SCP Samuel Ezati Forensic Services

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