- UHRC found out that the housing in UPF is dire, as of the 390 police personnel interviewed 29% lived in decent housing, 36% in moderate decent housing, 24% in dilapidated structures, 3.6% in makeshift structures while 7.7 did not specify the state of their housing.
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The 2024 Uganda Human Rights Commission [UHRC] report on the working and living conditions of the Uganda Police Force [UPF] indicates that their living and working conditions are wanting and in some cases to an extreme level.
The survey was conducted between February and July 2022 through sampling of 28 police regions covering 75 districts of Uganda and 955 Uganda police officers were selected to ensure adequate representation.
The survey looked at the working conditions that include office space and structures, office supplies, office equipment, office utilities, deployment and transfers, remuneration, promotion and training, annual leave, rewards and sanctions, staff welfare initiatives among others.
According to the findings , though various officers belonged to various saving groups that include Police Saving Association Limited and Exodus police SACCO , only 7% rated UPF SACCO services as very good,14% as good,23% as fair,26% as poor and 30% very poor. Only 31.6% said they had benefited from exodus police Sacco, where the majority of the personnel belonged and the Police Saving Association Limited, the two formal staff saving schemes.
It was also found out that deployments are not fairly done as 30% of the respondents said they are fairly done following well established procedures and in consideration of one’s sex, age, professionalism ,rank ,training, competence and health status but 70% said they are not fairly done due to underhand methods that include corruption tendencies, favoritism, tribalism, nepotism, technical know who, bribery and they also noted that they were not aware about the deployment and transfer processes.
The survey also looked at the living conditions of Uganda police force officers that include housing, utilities and sanitation, access to medical care, decent burial for police personnel among others.
UHRC found out that the housing in UPF is dire, as of the 390 police personnel interviewed 29% lived in decent housing, 36% in moderate decent housing, 24% in dilapidated structures, 3.6% in makeshift structures while 7.7 did not specify the state of their housing.
In terms of interference in their work, 78% of the police personnel confirmed having experienced interference of political, social, cultural, economic and environmental nature and of these 64% were political interference, 21% social, 18% cultural, 11% economic and 7% environmental.
The chairperson of the Uganda Human right commission Mariam Wangadya noted that they wanted to establish whether police working and living conditions were a catalyst for human rights abuse or violation.
While releasing the findings the director research, education and documentations under the commission Byonabye Kamadi recommended ministry of finance to increase funding to UPF to facilitate the construction of decent offices with requisite facilities that are in line with human rights standards on police stations, provision of adequate equipment and supplies and dissemination of laws to all personnel.