PROFILE: MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Established by the Uganda Constitution under Article 16. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is a member of the Justice Law and Order Sector. It guarantees Uganda’s internal security, ensures law and order, peace, and stability, as well as citizen identification, protection, and preservation. The Ministry has nine (9) institutions established by the Constitution and Acts of Parliament and two (2) institutions by policy.
These are:
Uganda Police Force
The mandate of the Uganda Police Force, as provided in the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and the Uganda Police Force Act, is protection of life and property, prevention and detection of crime, keeping law and order, and maintenance of overall security and public safety in Uganda.
Uganda Prisons Service
To contribute to the protection and development of society by providing safe, secure, and humane custody of offenders while placing human rights at the center of their correctional programs
Directorate of Citizenship & Immigration Control (DCIC)
The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control is established by the Uganda Citizenship and Immigration Control Act, 2006. DCIC is a public service institution under the Ministry of Internal Affairs responsible for managing migration to and from Uganda.
The Directorate provides services to a wide range of clientele, including government departments responsible for the administration of justice and other agencies of government, mainly the police, courts of law (the judiciary), the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the private sector, and members of the public.
It also provides services to statutory bodies such as the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), the National Drug Authority (NDA), the Department of Water Development (DWD), the Agricultural Chemicals Board (ACB), and the private sector.
National Identification and Registration Authority
NIRA was created by the Ugandan parliament on 26 March 2015 in the law known as the Registration of Persons Act 2015. NIRA was created to establish and maintain a credible, secure, and up-to-date register of all persons in Uganda for national security and socio-economic development.
National Bureau for NGOs
The Bureau is mandated to register, regulate, monitor, inspect, coordinate, and oversee all NGO operations in the country.
DEPARTMENTS
Amnesty Commission
The Amnesty Commission was established to facilitate the implementation of the Amnesty Act of 2000. By the Act, any forces that are fighting the government and wish to give up are free to report and will be forgiven when they denounce their activities.
National Focal Point
To coordinate efforts to prevent, combat, and eradicate the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons through comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approaches.
Finance and Administration
The department coordinates and facilitates the operations of the technical departments.
Planning and Policy Analysis
The Planning and Policy Analysis Departments and Units were established across government ministries in 1998 after a comprehensive restructuring exercise undertaken by the Ministry of Public Service. However, it was not until 2016 that this department was formally created in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Government Security Office
The Department of Government Security Office (GSO) is mandated to ensure the security of government/vaginal installations in the country/missions abroad and the implementation of the explosives act.
Tracking in Person
TIP is a creation of Sec 21-PTIP ACT. TIP is charged with coordination, monitoring, and overseeing the implementation of the ACT.
Although the Internal Affairs Ministry report for the NRM Manifesto 2021-2026 is not yet formally out, the ministry’s 2016-2021 report showed steady progress. Among the achievements at the time were the full implementation of the e-immigration system, which has facilitated the electronic issuance of visas, permits, and passes; personalized services of visas that can now be accessed at Uganda’s 17 missions; EAC e-Passports facility operationalized; Established an automated Border Control Management System under the e-immigration system; Installed electronic gates at Entebbe International Airport for faster clearance of travelers; Installed an automated border management system capable of tracking the entry and stay of persons in the country; Recruited and trained 6,065 warders and wardresses, 129 Cadet Principal Officers, and 170 Cadet ASPs; Strengthened the Prisons SACCO and increased membership from 6,874 to 10,271 members, representing 94.2% of staff with an asset base of UGX 7.02bn; Piloted irrigation scheme at Bulaula Prison farm to mitigate effects of drought on 150 acres; Integrated NIRA services with the following entities: URSB, DCIC, MoPS, URA, MoES, NSSF, MoLHUD, UCC, and EC put up infrastructure for implementation of Third Party Interfaces (TPI) has been fully established and functional; 60 entities accessed the National Identification Register either through TPI or manually; acquired genetic Analyzer for DNA analysis; automated Ballistics Information System for Ballistics and Gun analysis; acquired video Spectral Comparator 8000 equipment for Questioned Document analysis and bullet Recovery System to assist in the forensic investigations; Increased police staff strength by 10,000 additional personnel thereby increasing the strength to 52,775 personnel. This has improved police to population ratio from 1:941 to 1:812; Built capacity of 11,000 in-service personnel through refresher and specialized training in various disciplines including Executive leadership, Strategic Command and Leadership programs, NCOs Course, advanced training in Criminal Investigations, Forensics, Canine, Marine, Fire, Field Force Unit, Counter Terror, Medical, Air wing, etc and established a Police Senior Command and Staff College at Bwebajja and continued with infrastructural developments in Police Training Schools at Kabalye, Ikafe, and Olilim.
The then Minister for Internal Affairs, Gen. Jeje Odongo, revealed that the ministry scored 90% achievement of the 2016-2021 NRM manifesto and was hopeful of full achievement of the manifesto 2021-2026.
He said the ministry still had challenges with the ever-changing dimension of crime—especially urban murders, drug and human trafficking, cybercrimes, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and kidnaps. Others are: infrastructural challenges: shortfall of staff accommodation, office space, overcrowding of facilities, especially in prisons; unresolved border demarcations between Uganda and its neighbors, including the porous borders (336 illegal routes that immigrants use to cross into the country); limited coverage and inter connectivity of electronic systems; adequate human resources across the Ministry institutions given the mandate; and lack of a business continuity solution/system for all institutions under the Ministry, among other challenges.
To date, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has embarked on increased community policing, which promotes citizens’ participation in ensuring their security, Decongestion of prisons through expansion of existing facilities and use of alternative sentencing options; continued registration of citizens for issuance of national identification cards as well as registration of resident aliens; and operationalization of the regional forensic laboratories to bring services and administration of justice closer to the people, among others.