IGP Ochola welcomes army officers deployed to police
The Inspector General of Police, John Martins Okoth Ochola has welcomed the UPDF officers deployed to serve in Police.
President Museveni on Tuesday appointed Maj Gen Geoffrey Katsigazi as the new Deputy Inspector General of Police whereas Maj Tom Magambo was appointed as the new Criminal Investigations Director.
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However, in a statement, IGP Ochola welcomed the new appointments to the Police Force, saying these are bringing a diverse experience to their new roles.
“The IGP welcomes and congratulates the DIGP and Director CID, to the call of delivering leadership and stewardship of the UPF as we protect and serve our motherland,”Ochola said.
The appointments make it six UPDF officers currently appointed to serve in the police with others including Brig Sserunjogi Ddamulira(Police Crime Intelligence Director),Col. Jesse Kamunanwire (Police Director for Human Resource Administration), Brig Geoffrey Golooba(police Director for Human Resource Development and Training) and Maj Gen Jack Bakasumba(police’s Chief of Joint Security) appointed in 2019.
Whereas many members of the public have always complained and argued that by appointing serving military officers, President Museveni is militarizing police, IGP Ochola in 2019 had a different view.
He said the UPDF officers bring a great wealth of knowledge to law enforcement body that will help build capacity.
“Some of the areas where police has drawn best practices from the UPDF include intelligence gathering, supervision, and discipline, handling highly risky and confrontational situations,” Ochola said.
After appointment as State Minister for Internal Affairs, Gen David Muhoozi last year defended as the move to appoint serving army officers in police and any other institutions in government.
“The UPDF can serve anywhere. If they assign duties, do you perform them according to the expectations? That should be the question and not who does what,” Gen Muhoozi said last year.
A few years ago, President Museveni defended the move to deploy UPDF officers in police, arguing that the law enforcement body had been infested with weevils that he was weeding out.
