By Aaron Okotel
MBALE CITY
The Uganda Police Force has deployed 10 new canine vehicles to regional headquarters across the country, addressing critical transportation shortages that previously hampered investigations and forced officers to ask crime victims to foot transport bills.
The newly dispatched fleet aims to streamline police response times, particularly in rural communities. Among the key beneficiaries is the Elgon Police Region in Eastern Uganda, where officers have been operating without a functional service vehicle.
Elgon Region Police Spokesperson, SP Rogers Taitika confirmed that the sub-region is set to receive its allocated vehicle from the Kampala headquarters at any moment.
“Anytime we shall be receiving our canine vehicle because it’s now a while since our vehicle stopped functioning and we have been lacking one as Bugisu sub-region,” Taitika said. “So anytime from today, we shall receive ours from the head office in Kampala.”
Taitika highlighted that the arrival of the vehicle coincides with a significant expansion of the sub-region’s police dog capacity. The area now boasts five sniffer dogs following recent allocations to Bulambuli District, adding to existing canine units in Manafwa, Sironko, and Mbale Central. Namisindwa District has also been shortlisted to receive a sniffer dog.
“Good enough, we now have five sniffer dogs… that means Manafwa District, Mbale Central, and now Sironko District and Namisindwa has also been listed on those who will be receiving a canine dog that will ease our work as police in investigations geared towards fighting unlawfulness in Bugisu sub-region,” Taitika added.
Officially launching the fleet on Friday, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) James Ocaya emphasized that the primary objective of providing dedicated transport is to eliminate the practice of officers soliciting transport or fuel money from crime victims—a practice he explicitly condemned as a form of corruption.
“The intervention is expected to help eliminate fuel-related solicitation,” DIGP Ocaya stated during the launch, noting that the vehicles will be stationed at regional offices such as Mbale, Mbarara, and Lira to serve surrounding districts immediately upon request.
The enhancement of the Canine Unit comes as demand for police dog services reaches an all-time high. According to the latest annual crime report, police canine teams were deployed in roughly 20,000 cases nationwide, directly aiding in the arrest of over 17,000 suspects.
