Ugandan Traffic Police To Scrap White Uniform For Dull Khaki

By Our Reporter

The Ugandan police leadership has set to replace the white traffic police uniforms with khaki starting this week.

A reliable source has intimated that the logistics and welfare directorates have been spearheading the sewing of a new khaki uniform which is expected to be distributed to all traffic personnel starting this Monday.

According to the sources, the debate to change the Ugandan traffic uniform started in 2019 after the images of the traffic officers in tight uniforms circulated on media platforms. And in another case, male drivers on the roads could only pay attention to the female traffic officers which led to accidents.

Another intention to bring the khaki uniform to support some police personnel who are reputedly shabby that are unable to keep the police uniforms neat.

Charles Ssebambulidde, traffic police spokesperson, also former traffic operations commander, said he was yet to get communications about the change of uniforms.”I heard about the proposal about changing the uniforms but I was not yet aware of its maturity,” Ssebambulidde added.

Still, a source at the traffic headquarters in Natete said the khaki uniform has already been adopted by traffic leadership including the director commissioner Lawrence Niwabiine. CP Niwabiine has addressed the media three times dressed in an encrypted khaki uniform.

“They were changed two years ago by the police uniform committee we are waiting for them to be distributed to us once they are given out, you will see officers of traffic directorate in the whole country putting them on,” a source at Nateete said.

Traffic police follow in category of specialized units just like Counter-Terrorism (CT), Very Important Persons Protection Unit (VIPPU), Field Force Unit (FFU), Marine and Canine which have different uniforms. 

A police source said that even though traffic officers will be wearing Khaki uniform, they will have specific features purposely to differentiate them from general duty police personnel.