IGP Yet to Issue Guidelines on M7 Bond Directive

Kampala Metropolitan Police are awaiting guidance from the Inspector General of Police to implement President’s directive on withholding police bond for specific offenses.

According to Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, the police force does not question the President’s directives, but rather acts and implements them accordingly. 

However, Onyango expressed concerns that junior officers may misinterpret the directive, potentially leading to abuse.

“There are particular offenses that the President is interested in, that are not supposed to be given police bond,” Onyango explained. 

To address this, the Inspector General of Police is developing guidelines to ensure proper implementation. 

Onyango assured that the police are committed to implementing the President’s directive, but need clarification to avoid misinterpretation.

In his New Year address, President Yoweri Museveni directed the Police to stop giving police bond to petty criminals, saying it is abetting insecurity in the country.

In the televised address to the nation, the President also said he had asked the judiciary through the Chief Justice to end giving bail to suspected criminals on trial.

This, he said, was because that his government had succeeded in stopping major incidents like killings by armed elements like the Allied Democratic Front rebels, as well as murders done by hired hitmen mainly those returning from the Middle East. However, he said, these achievements were being reversed by crimes like theft.