Police vow to prosecute officers behind theft of traffic fines
The acting director for Traffic and Road Safety, Mr Lawrance Nuwabiine
What you need to know:
- Mr Nuwabiine said the thieving officers were only able to temporarily tamper with the police ICT systems protecting the Express Penalty Scheme (EPS) facility. Police, he said, was able to get a notification that data on the ESP machine were corrupted.
Police yesterday said all traffic officers who were involved in the theft of Shs5 billion in express penalty scheme monies will be prosecuted.
Mr Lawrance Nuwabiine, the acting director for Traffic and Road Safety, told this publication that ongoing investigations have revealed the particulars of the officers who will now face legal charges.
“We are not investigating officers only. It’s a line of people who were doing that job, we are connecting their networks for the purpose of investigation,” he said. Daily Monitor yesterday broke the story of the fraud in which Shs5 billion is believed to have been shared between some traffic officers over the two years.
Already, a number of traffic officers, including ASP Faridah Nampiima (who was head of the EPS car tracking unit), have since been relieved of their duties and recalled to headquarters.
Police superintendents Clare Asansire and Sylvia Auma were also withdrawn from the traffic directorate in a shake-up announced on May 4.
The traffic chief has, however, allayed fears that the system may have been irretrievably compromised.
System safe
Mr Nuwabiine said the thieving officers were only able to temporarily tamper with the police ICT systems protecting the Express Penalty Scheme (EPS) facility. Police, he said, was able to get a notification that data on the ESP machine were corrupted.
“Police did not lose money at all, because the tickets will be reversed back to the system and when an operation on EPS defaulters comes, all those people with pending tickets will be arrested and fined,” he said.
Mr Nuwabiine advised all motorists to always use official channels when paying EPS tickets.
“Every month we reconcile with the banks, Uganda Revenue Authority and mobile money application in order to get defaulters. So, if you pay an individual, you will have done nothing,” he said.
Four years ago, the EPS scheme was introduced under Section 165 of the Traffic and Road Safety Act, 1998, to deal with minor traffic offences by levying express penalties that would help decongest courts.
