By Andrew Irumba
Kampala: The Uganda Police Force are set to face difficulties feeding their officers and men, after contractors vowing to stop supplying the Force with food over arrears amounting to billions of shillings.
This comes after over 200 companies contracted by Police to supply flour and beans giving the Force a two-week ultimatum to either pay the arrears or accept to starve. Through their chairperson, Badru Kisitu, the contractors claim that they haven’t received payment for food supplied to Uganda Police since 2016. Kisitu said that “Uganda Police Force owes us more than Shs30 billion. Failure by the police management to pay us has forced banks to take over our properties since we are unable to service their loans.”
He added that “We have tried talking to top police managers including the Inspector General of Police, Police Under Secretary and Director of Logistics among others to clear our payments in vain.” After trying all avenues to get their money in vain, the suppliers have appealed to Parliament, Finance Ministry and Police management to address their concerns immediately or else they will stop supplying food to police. They also appealed to President Yoweri Museveni to intervene in their matter, because the concerned authorities seem unable or unwilling to clear the police food bills. However, in order to avoid intimidation and marginalization, the complainants refused to provide a list of their companies, saying they could lose their customers and business. But by the time we went to press Police spokesperson Fred Enanga had not yet issued a statement from police about this impasse. We shall keep you updated about the developments in this saga that threatens the effective execution of police duties.
