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Police spend Shs3b on anti-riot trucks
The four new anti-riot water cannons parked at the police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala. PHOTO/ courtesy
What you need to know:
- Police say the new equipment will improve their capacity to deal with riots.
Uganda Police Force has bought four new anti-riot water cannons that are worth billions of shillings as it increases its investment in controlling politically-related crimes despite budget cuts.
The acquisition of the new equipment brings the Force’s capacity to deal with public order management incidents around the country to 80 percent, according to the police accountability documents.
A police source, who preferred anonymity because he is not allowed to talk to the press, said the anti-riot trucks would enable the Force to effectively deal with riots and illegal protests.
“Whenever there was an anticipated riot upcountry, we had to drive water cannon trucks from Naguru to the place where their service is in demand. It costs a lot of money and resources. I believe the police management will send some of the old anti-riot trucks upcountry to solve the shortage,” a source said.
Although the source doesn’t know how much the government spent on buying the new anti-riot trucks, he said on the international market, each goes between $160,000 (Shs598.7m) and $200,000 (Shs748.4m).
If we are to go by the officer’s estimate, the cost of the four water cannons could be around Shs3b. The Shs3b is nearly the amount the police needed to fulfill its stationery shortage this financial year.
Police’s budget for this financial year was cut by Shs96b from Shs936b in 2021/2022 to Shs840b.
The water cannons were brought into the country by road via Kenya from Mombasa Port last week, and they are parked at the police headquarters in Naguru, Kampala.
Efforts to get a comment from the police spokesman Fred Enanga were futile. Our calls to him went unanswered.
The Shadow Internal Affairs minister, Mr Derrick Nyeko, said the anti-riot trucks are not a priority for the country now given the economic challenges.
“You can see how the government is acquiring loans all over the place to finance its budget. It shows you how battered the economy is. It is unfortunate that the police could focus on non-priorities,” Mr Nyeko said yesterday.
On several occasions, human rights activists have accused police of spending on purchasing equipment intended to stifle dissent against the government yet there are urgent priorities such as accommodation of the police officers, crime management, and rescue services.
Only 18 percent of the police officers entitled to the accommodation have houses while only 26 percent of police divisions have fire and rescue services, according to police statistics.
Function
Water cannons, often used during riots or demonstrations, release a high speed torrent of water to target a group of people to disperse them.
The trucks also have sprays that are able to discharge pepper on targeted areas. They also clear debris off the road.
Water cannons were used often during demonstrations by the Opposition calling for the opening up of political space, maintaining presidential term limits in Uganda, and demand for government intervention in the rise in commodity prices between 2007 and 2012.
Before 2016, the police bought anti-riot trucks, and the police spokesperson said the trucks were intended to secure the general elections.
