21 police officers under probe over forged papers

In the spotlight. Twenty-one officers face prosecution for allegedly forging documents. Photo by Rachel Mabala

What you need to know:

  • However, he added that once Ms Akullo received the report, she would take action.
  • Daily Monitor understands that M Ochola received Dr Mutambi’s letter calling for criminal proceedings against the officers and once he communicates to the CID, investigations will commence.

Kampala. At least 21 senior police officers are facing investigations after the Inspector General of Government indicted them for using forged documents to enter the Force where they have risen to senior ranks.

The indicted officers are at ranks of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police, Superintendent of Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police and Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police.

On February 15, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Internal Affairs, Dr Benon Mutambi, wrote to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Martins Okoth- Ochola, to institute criminal investigations against the 21 police officers.

Dr Mutambi also forwarded to Mr Ochola the names of the officers who, according to IGG, forged entry documents and in the result were “irregularly promoted.”
He told Mr Ochola that the irregular promotions and recruitments of the said officers were communicated to the police authority during its meeting on January 25, 2019. The affected officers joined police in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

“Under Minute No. 889/2019, the Police Authority resolved to subject the said [21] Officers to criminal investigations,” Dr Mutambi wrote to Mr Ochola.
“The purpose of the letter is to request you to institute criminal investigations against the officers as per the decisions of the Police Authority,” he adds.

Daily Monitor has learnt that the officers in the Police Directorate of Administration and Human Resource, who recruited the implicated officers, might be asked to explain why they did not detect the forged documents and the officers were promoted to senior ranks.
However, this newspaper was informed that the IGG inquiry into the recruitment of the officers started during the former IGP, Gen Kale Kayihura’s regime. The inquiry started after some police officers petitioned the IGG to investigate rot in the police recruitment.

Sources told Daily Monitor that at some point Gen Kayihura asked Mr Ochola, who headed the police Promotions Committee at the time, to investigate the allegations of nepotism, bribery and unfairness in the recruitment. Later, the whistleblowers took the complaint to the IGG for investigation.
The IGG made a report and asked the Internal Affairs ministry to take action, saying the 21 officers had failed to explain how they entered the police and even got promoted to senior ranks with forged documents.

Dr Mutambi did not pick our calls at the weekend, but his letter demanding an investigation against the implicated officers, is copied to the Internal Affairs Minister, Gen Jeje Odong, and the IGG, Justice Irene Mulyagonja.
The police falls under the Internal Affairs ministry.

Implicated officers


Justice Mulyagonja discovered the irregularities in the police recruitment which had been concealed for years.
The IGG subsequently wrote to the relevant officials in Internal Affairs in her letter of September 10, 2018.

The communication contained evidence of irregular promotions and recruitment of cadet officers and demanded action.
When contacted, police spokesperson Fred Enanga could not explain how the officers were recruited into the Force or promoted to senior ranks.
“The Director of CID [Ms Grace Akullo] has not received any such instructions yet,” Mr Enanga said.

However, he added that once Ms Akullo received the report, she would take action.
Daily Monitor understands that M Ochola received Dr Mutambi’s letter calling for criminal proceedings against the officers and once he communicates to the CID, investigations will commence.

The IGG spokesperson, Ms Munira Ali, confirmed the IGG report to the police authority about the forgeries.
“We are happy that the PS wrote to police to take action. It means they are taking our recommendations seriously. We investigated recruitment and promotions and gave a report to officials in the Internal Affairs ministry. We are monitoring everything because we want to see action,” Ms Munira said.

“These were administrative issues, that’s why we asked police to handle and there is nothing wrong with that. But where there is no action, we intervene and ensure those police officers are prosecuted. We are in touch with the authorities from Internal Affairs docket. We are hopeful that action will be taken on our recommendations,” she added.