Jeff Lule
15 November 2009
Kampala — US officers have trained 80 Ugandan Police officers in anti-corruption skills.
Moses Sakira, the deputy director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), said the anti-fraud unit had only 15 officers.
He explained that there were many corruption cases in the rural areas that had not been handled due to lack of manpower.
"The officers will boost our operations in other parts of the country and act as contact persons to the CID headquarters."
Sakira was representing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kale Kayihura, at the closure of the training at the Uganda Management Institute in Kampala on Wednesday.
He warned officials who swindle public funds of arrest. "We want to enforce the President and IGP's call to have a country free of corruption. We want zero tolerance to corruption and other forms of activities that affect the country's development," Sakira said.
Stephen Otim, the head of the anti-corruption unit, said they would set up desks at every Police station and post countrywide.
"We have been having many corruption cases upcountry. People did not have anywhere to report the cases, but now it is time to work upon greedy district officials," he said.
Otim called on the trainees not to be intimidated by anybody involved in swindling public funds.
The training was funded by the Anti-Corruption Country Threshold Programme, an initiative of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The programme chief of party, Solomon Ossiya, noted that corruption was prevalent in most parts of the country
"We want to make sure that all government programmes are implemented as expected and see that poverty is eliminated. All corrupt district workers should stay warned because we shall arrest them," he said.
Ossiya said the programme cost $2m.
He added that the US government would fund more training.
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