President Museveni has once again redirected that army guns be fingerprinted as one of the ways to curb crime, especially that carried out using guns.
"The fingerprinting of guns of security forces is helping but I hear they somehow didn't include the army. I have directed all army guns be fingerprinted," Museveni said.
The president was on Sunday speaking during the pass out of 2234 prisons officers at the Kololo ceremonial grounds.
In 2018, the president directed the fingerprinting of all guns in the country following a spate of shootings where criminals gunned down high profile citizens and fled without any trace.
The president said fingerprinting would help security agencies, especially police during investigations since they would be in position to know the type of gun used and the person who holds the specific firearm used.
"That will mean that if any legal gun in Uganda is used, we shall know which gun was used and since we know who is carrying which gun, we shall easily know the crime perpetrator," Museveni told parliament in 2018.
The fingerprinting process involves firing various guns in a controlled area and each gun's unique print is captured, recorded and stored.
According to experts investigators using ballistic fingerprinting analyse a fired bullet or casing for scratches under the microscope and the markings, just like for fingerprints are unique to each weapon.
In case of any incident of shooting, the bullet shell is picked by investigators from the crime scene and analysed by ballistic experts to find out the details of the gun used and its current owner.
The police directorate of forensics has also put in a place a data of all criminals whose fingerprints are taken, the moment they are arrested.
This way, if a person participates in the commission of another crime, their fingerprints can easily be lifted off the crime scene and this evidence is used in courts of law to ensure conviction
Whereas most of the security agencies including the private security companies have had their guns fingerprinted, the Daily Monitor in 2021 reported that the army had not complied with the directive.
The newspaper reported that the military was concerned that in case a state enemy lands on the database of the fingerprinted guns, it could cause problems to the security of the country.
The annual performance report for the governance and security program for the year 2022 released in December last year indicated that 99% of guns in the country had been finger printed.
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The governance and security program brings together government agencies responsible for upholding the rule of law, ensuring security, maintaining law and order, public policy governance, administration of justice, promoting human rights , accountability and transparency.
The report however noted that one percent of the firearms in the country are yet to be fingerprinted but was quick to attribute it to "some" challenges that are yet to be addressed.
Speaking on Sunday, the president allayed these fears, noting that the database can be kept by military police.
"They( database) can be kept separately , maybe under military police but every gun must be fingerprinted," Museveni directed.
Making a case for the new security measures, the president said cameras have played a big role in the reduction of crimes, citing those involved in the attempted assassination of Gen Katumba Wamala.
"The terrorists who killed Gen Katumba's daughter were arrested partly because of cameras," he said.
Previously, security used the finger-printed firearm database to link guns used in the attempted assassination of Works Minister Gen Katumba Wamala to a series of other killings by shooting and robberies in various parts of the country.
The president on Sunday also insisted on digital number plates as one of the magic bullets to helping ending crimes since it will be easy to trace those involved.
