Police not involved in procurement of digital number plates – Otafiire

What the report says

Ugandan officials and lawmakers on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, debated the government’s Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS), a US$25 million project linked to digital number plates and vehicle tracking. According to Watchdog Uganda, Water and Environment Minister Kahinda Otafiire, who previously served as internal affairs minister, told Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure that police were not part of the procurement process and argued the system added little to the country’s existing surveillance network.

Otafiire said he had objected to the project because the Russian-supplied technology did not fit with cameras already in place, which he described as using Chinese components. He also raised concerns about the equipment’s assembly and whether the system was delivering the kind of advanced monitoring promised. To support his criticism, he said a vehicle could be tracked by its number plate device even after the plates were removed from the car, suggesting the product was more of a tracking service than a full transport-monitoring solution.

Former Works Minister Gen. Katumba Wamala offered a contrasting view, saying police surveillance helped trace people suspected of attacking him in Kampala in 2021. He added, however, that his view was limited by that experience. Other MPs also questioned the project’s pricing and compatibility, while the deputy committee chair warned against wasteful spending on foreign technology without careful assessment. Watchdog Uganda reported that the discussion centered on whether the system’s cost and design were justified, and whether local production of number plates had been overlooked.