Uganda Police canines recognised for helping secure UN base

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In a bid to appreciate the security and investigative services rendered by Police canine dogs, the United Nations Regional Service Centre in Entebbe (UNRSCE) has decorated the animals with medals and certificates.

The director of administration at the UNRSCE, Paulin Djomo, decorated three dogs — Larry, Ship and Major — with metallic medals that dangled under their necks. In turn, the dogs wagged their tails playfully during the ceremony held at the UNRSCE on October 25, 2025.

“One or more times, these are the colleagues who make sure that our lives are safe here at the UN Centre,” Djomo said.

Djomo revealed, “Sometime back, a truck was hired to bring equipment destined to UNRSCE from Mombasa port. Remember, we also use sniffer dogs at the other side of the centre bay, to investigate the trucks before they are offloaded.”

“When the truck arrived at the UNRSCE before offloading, the dogs detected the compounds of explosives. The dogs gave a clue to their handlers that some explosives could be carried on the truck,” explained Djomo.

“The truck was taken to the scanner to detect the prohibited items, including explosives. During the investigation, we found out that one week before, the same truck had been hired by another company to transport weapons to another country, and the smell of the weapons remained in the truck. The dogs sniffed the smell of the weapons. This is how the dogs detect explosives and weapons,” said Djomo.

Djomo explained that established in 2010 as part of the Global Field Support Strategy (GFS) to offer client-oriented services, the UNRSCE is the largest shared service centre of the UN Secretariat, processing over 55,000 transactions monthly.

The dogs which were decorated with medals pose for photo with their handlers at the United National Regional Service Center, Entebbe.

It serves all peacekeeping operations and political offices in Africa, providing administrative, logistical, and information communication technology (ICT) support to 18 UN peacekeeping and special political missions across the continent.

Police speaks out

Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said in an interview with New Vision that the K9 Unit had a remarkable year in 2024, with impressive statistics.

“The Unit conducted 19,899 tracking cases, with the help of K9 dogs. 15,679 people were arrested. 5,520 of those arrested were taken to court, while 6,920 exhibits were recovered,” said Rusoke.

George Ochieng, the acting chief security officer at UNRSCE, explained that the centre is one of the UN’s specialised arms that offer services for all UN peacekeeping missions in Sub-Saharan Africa, including the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), all served administratively by the UNRSCE.

“The advantage of UNRSCE is that it is located near Entebbe International Airport. In Uganda, the UN is among the biggest airlines that operate eight planes daily, landing and taking off at Entebbe Airport,” said Ochieng.

The UN also recognised the dogs to instil a sense of responsibility among the dog handlers and the Ugandan security services.

Over 500 vehicles access the UNRSCE daily. The dogs are highly effective for checking vehicles because their sense of smell is superior to that of humans, Ochieng explained.

The criterion used to select the dogs was determined by a neutral team selected from among 1,200 staff at the UNRSCE.

“Annually, during the month of October, the world celebrates the International Client Customer Service Week. At the UNRSCE, we celebrate to recognise great service, reaffirm commitment to service, and reward service excellence,” Ochieng affirmed.

Ochieng pointed out, “Part of this year’s celebrations, the UNRSCE recognises unsung heroes, who conduct their business behind the scenes daily to ensure we have a safe working environment to carry out our roles. The reason we chose to recognise the K9s as our unsung heroes.”

Asked about the cash value of the medals, he declined to quantify the value attached to them.

He said, “The UN has extended intrinsic rewards to motivate the dogs because it comes from internal satisfaction, as a sense of achievement or personal growth, that comes from professional tasks and achievements.”

“We recognised the dogs because we value inclusivity, the UN’s models are to respect the inclusivity of the humans of the environment and that the animals are supportive to us, we recognise dogs' role of supporting humans and the environment, aligning with the concepts of sustainability and animal welfare,” said Ochieng.

Ochieng said dogs are trained to detect a range of substances, including explosives, ammunition, and illegal drugs, making them a valuable source of security at the UNRSCE.

“We also have high technology used to screen what comes in and out, but the ‘unsung hero’, the dog supported by handlers, has a sensitive sense of smell that detects things humans and machines miss. They are trainable and a complementary part of security,” explained Ochieng.