President Yoweri Museveni has promoted seven Senior Commissioners of Police (SCP) to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP), the highest rank in the Uganda Police Force.
Among those promoted are former Kampala Metropolitan Police commanders Frank Mwesigwa, currently serving as Director of Operations Service, and Moses Kafeero, Director of Human Resource Development.
Other newly promoted AIGPs include Felix Baryamwisaki, Director of Information Communication Technology; Hadijah Namutebi, Director of Welfare and Production; Charles Kataratambi, head of the Legal Directorate; David Waswa, Director of Counter-Terrorism Police; and Ubaldo Wasswa, Director of the Political Commissariat.
The promotions were confirmed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kituuma Rusoke, the police spokesperson. These advancements mean that AIGPs who were recently asked to step aside following the expiration of their contracts are unlikely to return to their positions.
Notable among the AIGPs hoping for reinstatement were Grace Akullo, former Director of Interpol; Charles Birungi, former head of the Welfare and Production Directorate; Fadhir Kaali, former Director of Fire and Rescue; Richard Edyegu, former head of Logistics and Engineering; and Erasmus Twaruhuukwa, former head of the Legal Directorate.
Frank Mwesigwa is remembered for his arrest of National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi on November 18, 2020, which triggered nationwide protests resulting in the deaths of over 50 people.
Mwesigwa, Namutebi, Baryamwisaki, and Kafeero were all promoted to SCP in 2022, and their rise to AIGP has occurred within two years.
For younger officers like Mwesigwa and Namutebi, reaching the AIGP rank means they will now serve on a contract basis.
The president grants an initial three-year contract to newly promoted AIGPs, with the option to renew for an additional two years at his discretion. Few officers have managed to serve more than five years in the police force after reaching the AIGP rank.
