Police change car rules after bus theft scare
NRM supporters aboard a police patrol truck on the Republic Street in Mbale during the 2016 election campaigns. Police drivers keep vehicles at their residences and have been used in crime and unscrupulous activities.
Kampala- Police have changed seven-year old rules on management of the force’s fleet after an incident during the Christmas period where one of their drivers disappeared with a police bus for several days.
“It has been observed with serious concern that you have little or no control at all over the fleet under your command. You are therefore instructed to take full command of the entire fleet under your command,” the Works ministry engineer-in-chief, Mr Samson Bagonza, wrote to unit commanders.
Police have a fleet of over 5,000 vehicles most of which are largely under control of the drivers.
On the Christmas Eve, Uganda Police Force bus registration number UP 5484 was driven away without the knowledge of the unit commander prompting a manhunt.
The bus was intercepted in Mityana District as the police driver was travelling upcountry.
He is facing disciplinary charges.
In the new measures to stop recurrence of such a scenario, all police vehicles can only move if the car commander and officer on journey will be responsible for the fleet during the travel.
“All drivers deployed for duty outside their duty stations must always be given matching orders. All drivers driving police vehicles must wear uniform at all times except drivers on covert duty,” Mr Kugonza said in the message, adding that undeployed cars should be kept at police stations and keys handed over to the in-charge.
Police drivers have been keeping vehicles at their residences and often they have been used in crime and unscrupulous activities.
A few years ago, a police driver was arrested on Jinja Road after he used a police ambulance to carry out a robbery.
