Kampala Extra Police region elevated to department

Mar 24, 2007

KAMPALA Extra Police region has been elevated to a department ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

By Steven Candia

KAMPALA Extra Police region has been elevated to a department ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The region will be headed by a commissioner of Police.

The elevation takes immediate effect and will be formalised next month at a meeting of the Police Council, the force’s highest decision-making organ, Kasingye said.

The move is part of an ongoing restructuring of the Force and it grants Kampala special status above the other 11 Police regions in the country, the Police said.

It means that Kampala will have more resources at its disposal.

Previously, Kampala like other regions, was headed by a regional Police commander at the rank of assistant commissioner. It will now be headed by the former Police spokesman, Edward Ochom.

The new Police spokesman, Asan Kasingye, said the move was necessary, given Kampala’s magnitude of crime and manpower demands.

“Kampala is metropolitan with a huge population. It has the most crimes and the manpower needs are more compared to other regions. It also has more logistical demands.”

Kasingye added that the restructuring is also aimed at attracting human and none human resources ahead of CHOGM. The Mobile Police Patrol Unit will provide security for the meeting in Kampala and Entebbe.

He gave the example of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, which he said was elevated to a department and is headed by a Commissioner of Police.

As a result of the restructure, the Kampala criminal investigations department and the Special Branch will be held by Assistant Commissioners of Police.

The Police chief, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, recently reshuffled officers, moving the Kampala chief, Grace Turyagumanawe, to head the mobile patrol unit and replaced him with Ochom. Similarly, the head of the Central Police Station, Ivan Nkwasibwe, was moved to the Violent Crime Crack Unit and replaced by former central Police chief, Emmanuel Muheirwe.

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