Leaders ask police to restrict social media usage among officers

Luwero, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Local leaders in Luwero district have raised concern over the increased attention police officers are giving to social media in disregard of their official duties.

Richard Bwabye, the Luwero Resident District Commissioner says that in the wake of attacks targeting security personnel, it is risky for police officers to pay a lot of attention to social media instead of paying attention to their work.

He says that police officers ought to use social media after working hours to avoid the risks of such attacks.

Brenda Nabukenya, the Luwero District Woman Member of Parliament says they have complaints of delayed responses to people who visit police stations as officers are busy on social media. According to Nabukenya, she has noticed traffic officers who are supposed to oversee traffic busy on social media.

She explains that although police officers have the right to information, there is a need for the police leadership to draft regulations that bar them from using social media during working hours or active deployment.

The Assistant Inspector General of Police, James Ocaya, the Director of Research, Planning, and Development in the Uganda Police Force has also confirmed noticing some police officers concentrating on social media during deployments, which is tantamount to indiscipline. He, however, explained that some police commanders have mobilized communities and created WhatsApp groups where they share security alerts.

He also revealed that Uganda Police Force has introduced the UPF Mobi application to ease communication, which may be affected by the proposed ban.

Recently, Bashir Lubega, a key suspect in the attack on Advance Smart Micro Finance told the police detectives that he monitored it for days and found laxity among the security guards before he executed his mission to rob a gun from them.

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