Inspector General of Police Abbas Byakagaba has encouraged private security companies to recruit election police constables who were deployed to support security operations during the 2026 general elections, saying their integration would strengthen the private security sector.
Byakagaba said the election constables will be decommissioned after the end of the election cycle for which they were specifically recruited and trained, creating an opportunity for private security firms to tap into a pool of personnel with basic policing skills and operational experience.
He made the remarks while meeting executive members of the Uganda Private Security Association (UPSA), the umbrella body for all registered private security organisations, at Police Headquarters in Naguru.
The IGP noted that as many as 99,000 election constables may be willing to transition into private security roles, a move he said would help bridge human resource gaps currently facing the industry while also raising professionalism and service standards.
“Police will offer its training camps in different regions of Uganda and provide clothing, food, transport and medical services as part of government support through the Police to bolster the training and professionalisation of private security organisations—not only for election constables but for all private security guards in the country,” Byakagaba said.
He further directed that a committee be set up to study and guide the modalities for police-led training of private security guards, starting with the retraining of election constables and later extending to serving and newly recruited private guards.
The proposal was welcomed by UPSA executive members led by Grace Matsiko, who described the initiative as a timely and strategic intervention by the Police and government. She also pointed to other forms of support being extended to the sector, including the procurement of weapons, aimed at enhancing operational capacity.
UPSA members thanked the IGP for the guidance and called on private security companies to take advantage of the offer by indicating the number of election constables they intend to absorb.
