The Police Standard Unit has existed for some years, quietly operating behind the scenes to ensure accountability within the force. However, the public remains largely unaware of its existence and functions.
Amidst growing concerns over corruption, the spotlight is now on the unit, particularly following recent reports of extortion involving canine police officers who have been accused of leveraging fabricated charges to extract bribes.
This troubling development has prompted the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU) to demand greater transparency from the Uganda Police Force (UPF) regarding its Professional Standards Unit (PSU), urging the force to actively inform the public about this critical oversight body.
ACCU’s Executive Director Marlon Agaba highlighted the urgency of the situation, noting that the public’s lack of awareness about the PSU leaves many victims of extortion without recourse.
“People have nowhere to report these injustices,” Agaba remarked, emphasizing that the inability to seek redress has led many to suffer in silence as the corruption persists unchecked.
The ACCU’s call for increased visibility and accessibility of the PSU aims to empower citizens and curb the misuse of power within the police force.
Agaba believes that Police Spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke’s suggestion for extortion victims to report their cases to the PSU assumes that people are already familiar with the unit and what it does.
However, many victims forced to pay Ugx500,000 and over a million shillings say their attempts to report the extortion to local police leaders have been fruitless.
Rusoke argues that not all police officers in the chain of command have failed in these situations and that if victims don’t report misconduct, the police force cannot address it.
Yet, victims like Musa Kanyike, who was extorted for Ugx700,000 over false theft accusations, and Innocent Tumwebaze, who paid Ugx500,000, both express frustration at not knowing where to turn for help.
They describe a troubling pattern where sniffer dog handlers allegedly use their dogs to falsely accuse people of theft, making it a profitable scheme.
Agaba points out that expecting people to report to an organization they don’t know exists is unreasonable.
He argues that the PSU’s role and actions are largely unknown to the public, which diminishes trust and reporting.
However, to address this, Agaba suggests that the police should be more transparent about the PSU’s work and hold public trials for officers found guilty of misconduct, similar to the military’s approach of making their trials visible to the media and public.
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