Masindi/Kampala — IF Police chief Kale Kayihura gets his way, traffic police officers will soon carry guns while on duty to protect themselves against what he calls "attacks from errant motor drivers."

Speaking in Masindi District at the pass out of 1,073 Special Police Constables (SPCs), the inspector general of police said keeping unarmed traffic officers on the road for long hours puts them at risk of being attacked by unruly people.

"Traffic officers should be armed because they are at a high risk of being attacked by criminals. It is done in many other countries like Indonesia and Malaysia," Maj. Gen. Kayihura said at Kabalye Police Training School in Masindi District on Saturday.

"Our traffic officers are on the road for longer hours yet they are not armed. I have personally received information about traffic officers who have been assaulted while discharging their work on the road," the IGP said. Traffic officers in Uganda are unarmed and ordinarily direct the flow of traffic and apprehend or caution traffic offenders.

Gen. Kayihura's remarks seem timely as a policewoman Ms Evelyn Aneki was knocked on Monday as she stopped a taxi driver in Nakulabye in Kampala in what appeared a deliberate move to hurt her.

She was admitted at at Mulago Hospital in critical condition. Though it's not clear when the arming would be effected, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, said yesterday that arming traffic policemen has been tabled and discussed.

"We are one team, by the time the IGP mentions it, it has already been considered," he said by telephone yesterday.