Who is taking Police officers’ salaries?

EMPTY POCKETS 

KAMPALA - In difficult economic times, who can Police officers turn to when they do not get their pay? Parliament has been put to task to find out where the officers’ salaries go, write Mary Karugaba and Simon Masaba.

Several Police officers, especially those of lower rank, have not been paid for the last six months, raising concern about how they survive, Parliament heard Wednesday (April 9).

The matter was raised by Tororo Woman Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Opendi, who informed the House chaired by Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, that despite the finance ministry releasing funds meant for Police officers’ salaries, several of them have not been paid. 

Opendi said she was approached by a group of Police officers who told her they had not been paid. They requested the legislator to raise the matter before Parliament. 

“On my way to Tororo, I was approached by a group of Police officers, who told me to raise this matter before Parliament because they were suffering. They told me that they had not been paid for the last six months. Others had not been paid for four months. They said constables were the biggest group affected,” she said. 

Police undersecretary Aggrey Wunyi confirmed that they receive at least one Police officer complaining daily over non-payment of salary. 

This means that more than 300 complaints are registered by the end of a year. 

Wunyi said at least 100 complaints were registered last year alone. Opendi said when she asked why Police officers had not been paid, she was informed that the challenge emanates from the new salary payment system being implemented by the public service ministry. 

She, however, did not say which system was being used. 

When the finance state minister (general duties), Henry Musasizi, was asked to explain why the Police officers had not been paid, he said: “As far as we are concerned, all government employees should be paid on time because we have released all the money for salaries. For Police officers, I don’t know why they have not been paid. We need to ask the Police.” 

This prompted Tayebwa to order the Ministry of Public Service to explain the matter on the floor of Parliament. The public service minister is expected to appear before the House today to explain.

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Affected officers speak 

Some of the Police officers, who spoke to New Vision on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, cited perpetually unresolved administrative errors, delayed reinstatements and unexplained omissions that have left them struggling without pay for months. 

“It’s frustrating. We’re risking our lives daily, but some are not on the payroll without explanation. I have been actively deployed in Kampala since last year, yet my last salary came in 2023. I report for duty every day, but I have to borrow money to survive,” an affected counter-terrorism officer said.

Another said: “My file was cleared after a human rights abuse case was dismissed, but getting reinstated on the payroll has taken forever.” 

Another Police officer said even when officers are reinstated on the payroll, their salaries for months missed are not refunded.

Police, public service comment

Wunyi attributed the missing salaries to several administrative and disciplinary factors. 

“These include lack of appointment letters, unresolved disciplinary cases, absence of national identity cards or required documentation, as well as desertion and abscondment from duty,” he said.

Wunyi noted that in such instances, Parliament is routinely asked to write to the Inspector General of Police, Abas Byakagaba, attaching a list of affected officers. 

“Each case is then reviewed individually, with specific explanations provided for why a particular officer’s salary was withheld,” he explained. 

However, the Ministry of Public Service permanent secretary, Catherine Bitarakwate, said she was not aware of any system being implemented that could cause delayed payments. 

“Have you contacted their (Police) human resource officer? If the matter was raised in Parliament, let’s wait for the query and we shall respond,” Bitarakwate said. 

On Tuesday (April 8), the finance ministry released sh1.9 trillion for the fourth quarter of the 2024/25 financial year to cater for wages and salaries across government agencies. 

The ministry’s permanent secretary, Ramathan Ggoobi, directed all accounting officers to prioritise salary payments of civil servants. 

The money was part of the sh19.7 trillion released for different sectors. Ggoobi asked accounting officers to ensure that all civil servants are paid by the 28th day of every month.

Others comment Several observers wondered how Police officers, who are armed, were surviving without pay. “Isn’t this an indirect way of sending Police officers into using their weapons to survive?” wondered a security expert, who preferred anonymity. 

Security analyst Fred Egesa said once the salary is not coming, Police officers certainly have to survive through other means. 

“Remember, this is a man who has a family to feed, children have to go to school, and he has to foot medical bills. Besides not being paid, their salaries are not adequate. Parliament knows that things of extortion and begging will have to surface in such circumstances,” Egesa said. 

Nyabushozi County MP Wilson Kajwengye, who is also the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on defence and internal affairs, said the matter of delayed payments had not come up in his committee. 

“We would have certainly addressed it in the report if it had come up. The committee raised the issue of salary enhancement for the lower cadres, which has been addressed. For a Ugandan to forego salary for six months is very sad,” he said.

Ghost police officers

In September last year, the Police Force was at the centre of an investigation following findings by the Auditor General showing that there were hundreds of ghosts being paid salaries in the force. 

The probe conducted by the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) centred around suspected 695 ghost Police officers, who were allegedly collecting salaries despite not being part of the active workforce. 

Investigations show that 695 Police personnel were still receiving salaries amounting to sh355m monthly or sh4.26b annually despite not being accounted for by the force. 

In light of these findings, the CID launched an official probe into what was suspected to be a widespread case of payroll fraud. The probe targeted salaries paid in the 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 financial years as announced in the Auditor General’s special audit report. 

A senior Police officer suggested that the issue of ghosts can be eliminated by introducing a digitised payroll system in the force.

“Police still rely on a manual system of data. Payments are currently processed after unit commanders submit lists of their personnel, making it difficult to promptly identify ghosts or discrepancies in the payroll,” the source said. 

This is not the first time the issue of ghosts on the payroll in the Police has been raised. 
On March 12 last year, Wunyi issued a directive requiring unit commanders to ensure that the 695 unverified personnel under their command are validated.

Police wage bill 

A review of the Police Force’s wage performance for 2024/25 showed that in the first half of the financial year, the Uganda Police wage expenditure was sh240.8b, with a release of sh246.2b, yielding a 98% absorption rate, including a sh22b supplementary budget shortfall despite an increasing wage bill. 

The total salary wage enhancement for the Police force was sh99.803b, with non-absorption resulting from attrition in the force. In the 2025/26 financial year, the Uganda Police’s wage bill increased to sh517.5b, up from sh495.5b in the financial year 2024/25, to accommodate salary enhancements for lower cadre Police officers. 

The Police strength, as of June 2020, stood at 46,614 personnel (37,899 male and 8,715 female), translating into the Police-to-population ratio of 1:892. This is far below the United Nations standard ratio of 1:500.