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Uganda INTERNAL SECURITY SERVICES
Early Development
Ugandan police history began in 1900 when Special
Commissioner Sir Harry Johnston established the Armed
Constabulary with 1,450 Africans under the command of
British
district officers. In 1906 the Protectorate Police
replaced the
constabulary, and the colonial government appointed an
inspector
general as the commanding officer of all police
detachments.
Although created as a civilian force, the police
frequently
carried out military duties. In 1907, for example, police
detachments participated in internal security operations
in the
western kingdom of Toro and the eastern district of
Bugisu. To
support this expanded role, colonial authorities enlarged
the
Protectorate Police, and in 1908 they opened a
fingerprinting
bureau in Kampala. By 1912 the police operated fifteen
stations
and possessed a small criminal investigation division, a
countrywide heliograph signal system, and a small bicycle
pool
for transport. The police continued their paramilitary
functions,
patrolling border areas between Uganda and German East
Africa
(later Tanzania) during World War I and patrolling
Karamoja
District to suppress cattle raiding and border skirmishes.
After 1918 the police became a more traditional
internal
security force. Most of their work involved homicide
investigations; traffic control; and supervision of
vehicle,
bicycle, and trade licenses. Worldwide economic depression
caused
the colonial government to reduce the size of the police
force
from its 1926 level of 33 officers and inspectors with
1,368 in
the rank and file to 37 officers and inspectors with 1,087
rank
and file.
At the outbreak of World War II, the police again
undertook
military duties. In 1939 the protectorate police
dispatched a
garrison to Lokitaung, Kenya; arrested German nationals in
Uganda; and provided security at key installations. In
addition,
the police assumed responsibility for operating and
guarding
camps for detained aliens. Many members of the police
force also
served in British army units in East Africa and in
overseas
operations. After World War II, the colonial authorities
expanded
the police force, and in July 1954, the Legislative
Council
established new police stations and posts throughout
Uganda. The
government also formed a specially recruited Internal
Security
Unit that subsequently became the Special Force Units. By
the
mid-1960s, there were eighteen Special Force Units, each
comprising fifty police trained in commando tactics,
normally
assigned to crowd control duties and border patrols.
Data as of December 1990
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