ICYMI: “I Know Nothing About the Digital Number Plate Project” -Otafiire

[Da Dona]

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“I can't take responsibility for something I know nothing about. I know nothing about the number plate projects,” former Internal Affairs Minister Kahinda Otafiire told Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure on October 13, 2026.​

Otafiire, now Minister for Water and Environment, had been summoned to explain his role in the procurement and implementation of the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS), which was introduced during his tenure as Internal Affairs Minister.

The committee, chaired by Mbarara City South MP Mwine Mpaka, was investigating the project’s procurement, cost and effectiveness. Otafiire told MPs that police was excluded from procurement and questioned the system’s ability to track vehicles, saying it appeared to track the number plates rather than the vehicles themselves.

The inquiry also heard from Attorney General Sam Mayanja, who declared the 2021 contract with Russian firm Joint Stock Company Global Security legally null and void, citing violations of Ugandan law and failure to meet key contractual requirements.

The project, intended to improve vehicle identification, tracking and crime detection, has faced scrutiny over its cost, procurement process, technological compatibility and whether it delivers the security capabilities promised by government.

Video by NBS​