4,200 police officers serving without confirmation

At least 4,200 police officers await President Museveni’s confirmation, three years after they were passed out.
The officers, including 1,000 police cadets and 3,200 probation police constables, were approved to join police and trained at Police Training School at Kabalye, Masindi District, in June 2015 but are yet to be confirmed.

This means they are not fully recognised as serving police officers and are not entitled to any benefits in case they quit their jobs. They also lose out on promotions.

The police spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police Emilian Kayima, said the process to confirm the officers was delayed by the Inspector General of Government (IGG) investigations into some of their academic qualifications.
“The confirmation is going to be done soon. It is a process. It was only delayed by the investigations by the IGG. The IGG is done with her investigations,” SSP Kayima said yesterday.

The two groups have been on the longest probation in police’s 100-year history.

Last year, a whistle-blower petitioned the IGG saying at least 200 police cadets had joined the police using forged academic papers.

The IGG’s decision on the affected police officers is not yet known.
One of the cadets said the IGG should have halted the confirmation of the affected officers other than keeping even the innocent ones waiting.

SSP Kayima said they expected to confirm the cadets and probation police constables late this year, but they were unable to beat the deadline they set due to technical issues.

According to Public Service Standing orders, after police officers have undergone training, they are supposed to be confirmed not later than two years.

A cadet who did not want to be named to speak freely said without being confirmed, they are uncertain of their future since they aren’t yet civil servants and therefore their labour rights are violated.

“Sacking a person considered to be on probation is very easy and that person isn’t entitled to benefits like any other public servant. Cadets and probation police constables operate in fear of being sacked,” the cadet said.

The process of firing a confirmed officer has to meet public service standards and it is often too long.
The cadet said they can’t occupy offices that are commensurate with their ranks since they are still seen to be on probation. Most of the cadets, who are senior police officers, are deployed at police posts yet if they were confirmed they would hold offices at police station level.

The officers said they can’t complain since they are considered to be still on training.
At least two cadets have died before being confirmed.