2026 Polls: Top CID officers sent for refresher training

KAMPALA - All district and regional Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) officers have been sent for one-month refresher training in preparation for the 2026 general election. 

The officers were flagged off at the Police Field Force Training Base in Kikandwa, Wakiso district. CID boss Tom Magambo expressed his gratitude to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Abas Byakagaba, for approving the refresher course programme. 

He told New Vision that the training will help improve officer conduct and skills and enable them to keep up with evolving crime trends, especially cybercrime. 

“We are today [yesterday] sending all district and regional CID officers and some other stakeholders for a one-month refresher course ahead of the 2026 election. It is about mindset change,” Magambo said. 

Last year, 474 cases of cybercrime were reported to the Police countrywide, compared to 245 cases reported in 2023 — an increase of 93.5%. 

The 2024 annual crime report stated that cybercrime led to a loss of sh72b, of which sh420m was recovered. By the end of last year, 67 cases had been taken to court. 

While 97 cases were not proceeded with, 310 were still under inquiry by the time CID compiled the report. Of the total cases taken to court, 21 convictions were secured, seven were dismissed, and 39 were still pending before court. 

Magambo said President Yoweri Museveni’s leadership expects a great deal from CID officers to drive Uganda’s socio-economic transformation through effective investigations. 

Tom Magambo

“We want the officers undergoing this training to know very well how to serve our people and we’ll bring them back. We may even change some due to complaints we’ve been receiving from the public about their conduct,” he said. 

In 2022, over 4,000 CID officers were transferred during efforts to reform the directorate. These included 200 gazetted and 3,800 non-gazetted officers. 

The CID boss added that some of the transferred officers had overstayed at their stations, leading to diminished motivation. 

He said the Government has started providing the necessary tools for their work and supporting the placement of the right people in the right positions. 

“The working environment is shaping up. If we succeed in our five strategic priorities, the country will begin to see a CID that works for the people. When that happens, our leadership aspirations of transforming our country will be realised,” the CID chief said.
 
Magambo said crime is very dynamic, and as guided by the President and the IGP, the training of detectives must be continuous in order to stay ahead of criminals. 

He added that the President and Byakagaba also guided that this training should be in addition to the basic instruction required for all personnel involved in crime management. 

“Detectives will also be trained in the use and maintenance of scientific aids, in addition to mindset and attitude change,” Magambo emphasised. 

The CID boss said that the detective caseload currently stands at one detective to 43 cases — significantly higher than the United Nations recommended ratio of one detective to 12 cases — which negatively affects both the quality and speed of investigations. 

To mitigate this, Magambo said the President and the IGP have directed that more detectives be recruited into the CID as the strength of the Police increases. 

“This recruitment will also include specialists such as pathologists, ballistics experts, handwriting experts,and cyber analysts,” he said.

IGP Abas Byakagaba

2026 election warning

The CID boss added that his team, in collaboration with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, is working tirelessly to ensure a free, fair and safe general election in 2026. 

He vowed that the CID and the ODPP will pursue anyone who commits electoral offences such as malpractice, election fraud and violence — regardless of political affiliation. 

“We will stop anyone who tries to cause trouble or hurt people. Our job is to protect our country and its people. So, if you are planning anarchy, then prepare yourself,” Magambo warned. 

The Electoral Commission has already announced that the next general election will take place from January 12 to February 9, 2026. Candidates for presidential, parliamentary and local government seats will be nominated from June to October 2025.

Museveni tasks CID

On August 4 2023, President Museveni delivered a lecture to middle-level CID officers who attended a one-month ideological course at the Special Forces Command Training School in Kasenyi, Wakiso district. 

“CID is to ensure there is no crime so that people can produce goods and services for prosperity. So, when you get a CID or Police officer who is not doing his or her work, he’s undermining our prosperity,” the President said. 

He said strategic security is among the missions of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) revolution, and CID officers should play a key role in protecting people against internal and external threats where the political class may not know what to do. 

The President also urged the officers to always remember the four principles that make up the ideology of the NRM: patriotism (anti-sectarianism), pan-Africanism (believing in East Africa and Africa), socio-economic transformation and democracy. 

He said these are intended to address the strategic goals of Africa since 1900, when the continent was colonised. On October 18, 2022, Museveni took to X (formerly Twitter) to hail Magambo for “polishing” CID officers. 

It was the first time the President publicly commended the CID boss for transforming the directorate. 

“I acknowledge the CID Director AIGP Tom Magambo for his contribution towards polishing the officers through refresher courses and congratulate the officers on completing the course successfully,” he said.