The Uganda Police Force has assured the public of its readiness to secure the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, saying its deployment will be focused on maintaining calm and enabling all citizens to freely exercise their constitutional right to vote.
Speaking during the Next Big Talk hosted by Canary Mugume on Next Radio on Saturday, the Director of the Chief Political Commissariat, Assistant Inspector General of Police Ubaldo Bamunoba, said police are fully equipped and logistically prepared for polling day.
“We’re very ready, well-equipped, and logistically facilitated to ensure police officers turn up at their duty stations and let Ugandans exercise their right to vote,” Bamunoba said.
He stressed that the role of the police during elections is not intimidation but the creation of a peaceful and enabling environment for voters.
“Our work isn’t to scare away voters but to ensure there’s calmness and the situation is enabling for everyone to exercise their right,” he said.
Responding to concerns over polling stations linked to the Naguru–Ntinda Police Barracks, Bamunoba said police officers are expected to vote from polling stations located around the barracks, rather than inside the restricted facility itself.
“There are polling stations around the Naguru barracks and that’s where the police officers are supposed to vote from. Inside the barracks, I’m not very certain,” he said.
The remarks come amid concerns raised by the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, over the location of several polling stations associated with the Naguru barracks.
In a letter dated January 9, 2026, Ssenyonyi petitioned the Electoral Commission over polling stations listed under Naguru II Parish, Nakawa West Constituency, which he said are physically situated within the fenced police barracks.
Ssenyonyi noted that at least 18 polling stations, many bearing variations of the name Shell Grounds, are collectively expected to host 12,455 registered voters, a figure he questioned given the nature of the barracks population.
“It is doubtable that this police barracks has that number of registered voters, comprised of mostly police officers and their spouses,” he wrote.
He further argued that the controlled and restricted nature of the barracks raises concerns about transparency, access for polling agents and equal participation by all political actors.
Ssenyonyi cited a 2010 court ruling in Lukwago versus Electoral Commission, which held that polling stations located within security barracks contravene electoral laws, as well as Section 57(3) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, which requires voting areas for security personnel to be located outside barracks.
He urged the Electoral Commission to relocate the affected polling stations before polling day, warning that failure to do so would amount to a breach of the law and could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
