Police to punish officers for appearing in health drink advert

The Inspector General of Police John Martins Okoth Ochola has directed the Professional Standards Unit to investigate police officers who appeared in an advert for Mukama Nayamba health drink.

The advert running on various media platforms and also features popular comedian Godfrey Seguya popularly known as Kayibanda depicts an emergency team from the 999 patrol pick-up rush to respond to an incident in which a carton of the Mukama Nayamba health drink was stolen.

However, according to the Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga the officers in the advert used the force’s resources like the patrol vehicle for their selfish gains when they got paid for participating in the advert without getting permission from their bosses.

“The appearance of officers in uniforms and the use of police logistics for work outside police duty is strictly prohibited without the express permission of the IGP. These officers for their selfish gains used appeared for a commercial advertisement without such approval and are a subject of investigation by the Professional Standards Unit,”Enanga said.

Demands advert withdrawn

According to Enanga, the force has since written to the health drink company to ensure the advert is withdrawn from all media platforms it is running for misrepresenting the force and subsequently tarnishing its name.

“The advert deceptively suggests that the police leadership endorsed the product of “Mukama Nayamba” and further supports the campaign to market, sell and drink the product. This false impression created by the advert is defamatory since it is not representative of the police institution,” he said.

“As a result, we demand that the commercial film, pulls out the police content or the entire advert, and hails any further displays on TV and Radios. Failure to do so will call for sanctions in the cavil count.”