Digital Number Plate Project: Two Officials Arrested Amidst Price and Testimony Probe

Parliament’s inquiry into the controversial digital number plate project has taken a significant turn with the arrest of two government officials by Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) officers. The officials, identified as Mr. Nathan Gessa from the Office of the President and Mr. Moses Bekabye from the Ministry of Finance, were detained following interrogation by the Committee on Physical Infrastructure.

Mr. Gessa’s arrest stemmed from his inability to provide a clear financial breakdown for the Shs714,300 charged per digital number plate. A subsequent breakdown presented to the committee totaled Shs624,000, leaving an unexplained balance.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bekabye admitted to having previously lied under oath. He had testified that government officials traveled to China, Russia, and India for benchmarking purposes related to the digital number plates, but later conceded that no such foreign trips had occurred.

These arrests occur as Parliament scrutinizes the project’s high costs, supply issues, and implementation delays. The investigation is examining whether the significant expenditure aligns with the value provided by the integrated digital vehicle security system, which includes tracking devices, SIM cards, and data processing systems linked to police operations.

While the effectiveness of the tracking system has been partially verified by the committee through real-time tracking tests, concerns remain about low recovery rates for stolen motorcycles and the response time of police units to automated alerts. The inquiry also highlighted administrative improvements, with registration and fitment times significantly reduced. However, the arrests underscore ongoing concerns about financial transparency, governance, and data protection related to the digital number plate initiative.

Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/two-arrested-over-digital-number-plate-price-saga-5620402