Why some Uganda police officers haven’t been paid
The Ugandan government has said delays in police salaries are due to ongoing efforts to move staff data to a new digital system.
Speaking in Parliament, Trade Minister David Bahati explained that the shift from the old payroll system to the Human Capital Management System (HCMS) began in October 2024.
He said the delays are affecting officers still listed under the old system, but assured MPs that the issue is being addressed.
Bahati, who was representing the Minister of Internal Affairs, said the two systems do not operate at the same time.
Salaries are first paid under HCMS, then on the older system. This process is aimed at avoiding double payments.
Some officers have also missed pay due to errors in their personal information.
The minister also said that problems with national IDs, names, and dates of birth caused some officers to be marked as "partially validated" during a recent audit.
In other cases, payments have bounced due to mismatches between the information in the bank and government records.
Bahati added that police deserters are also removed from the payroll, and delays happen when they return and face disciplinary action.
Since January 2025, 86 officers were listed as deserters, and 65 have since returned but are yet to be fully reinstated.
He also confirmed that 426 officers were retired in March 2024 due to conflicting birth dates in official records.
Of these, 104 have been cleared, 179 confirmed retired, and 143 cases are still being sorted out.
On a separate matter, Parliament heard that the issue of police lawyers seeking equal pay has been sent to the Attorney General for action.
This follows an August 2024 High Court ruling, which found that cutting the salaries of police legal officers was unlawful.
Justice Musa Ssekaana said the Ministry of Public Service acted outside the law by reducing their pay, and that it went against a 2010 directive by President Yoweri Museveni.
The President had ordered that police lawyers be paid the same as those in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General’s office. The policy was introduced to stop government lawyers from quitting for better pay in the private sector.
The court ordered the government to pay all salary arrears owed to the affected police lawyers.
Despite the directive being implemented for years, in 2022, the Ministry of Public Service questioned the higher salaries and advised the Police to reverse earlier appointments.
This led the affected officers to take the matter to court.
Parliament now awaits guidance from the Attorney General on how the government will implement the court decision.
