With the 2021 general elections fast approaching, different security authorities are preparing themselves to make sure there is nothing like election violence like it was in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) primaries or if it is there, it is kept at the very minimum.

One way of preparing for this is to recruit more law enforcement officers to supplement the existing force, and Police are drafting up plans to do just that prior to 2021.

While addressing the media during Police’s weekly briefing about the current security situation in the country at the Uganda Media Centre today, Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga, said that the Police is set to recruit 50,000 Special Police Constables (SPCs) to support the force in the forthcoming general elections.

In recent times, the Police have been assisted by the Military Police and sometimes the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to keep law and order, and prior to the 2016 general elections, thousands of crime preventers were recruited to do just the same, although sometimes they ended up committing crimes themselves.

The Local Defence Unit (LDU) was reinstated to support the Police, but it has also had lapses in the way it carries out its activities, and government was forced to take them back for a refresher training a few months ago, after which they  were withdrawn from manning security among the general public.

Currently, the Uganda Police Force has 37,400 Police officers and 396 civilian staff according to data provided on their website.