By Frank Kamuntu
Major General (Rtd) Kahinda Otafiire, the Minister of Internal Affairs has urged the newly graduated officers to apply the knowledge they have acquired to serve the people of Uganda.
“Go and put the skills you have acquired into practice. A leader without knowledge has no place in society. Your performance in the field will be the yardstick of your competence,” stated the minister.
This was during the pass-out ceremony of the Senior Command and Staff Course Intake 006/2022/2023 at Bwebajja on Thursday 13th July 2023, which marked the graduation of officers with certificates and master’s degrees in various fields.
At the pass-out ceremony, Minister Otafiire emphasized the importance of a knowledgeable Police Force, highlighting that lack of knowledge is a dangerous situation for an officer to live in. He expressed the need to invest in knowledge, as it forms the basis of development, and called on the police to strive for excellence.
“Policing is about managing people, and there is no single approach for that. It is a constantly evolving science, as people behave differently, and we must stay ahead,” he stressed.
The course began on August 15th 2022, with 41 senior officers, including 3 females and 38 males from the Uganda Police Force (36) and the Uganda Prisons Service (5).
Addressing the graduands, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Katsigazi Tumusiime chipped in that;
“There is no need to boast about having a master’s degree. Instead, put it into practice, and let’s see how it improves the police force and benefits the people you serve.”
The DIGP commended work done by the commandant staff college with his team, Uganda Management Institute (UMI) and partners from various universities that contributed to the knowledge development of the officers.
To the graduands, DIGP said, as middle managers, he expects the officers to be better equipped and to pass on their acquired knowledge to their colleagues.
This is the sixth graduation ceremony held at the college providing opportunities for officers to advance their knowledge.
According to the commandant of the Police Senior Command and Staff College Bwebajja, Senior Commissioner of Police (SCP) Moses Kafero, the graduands ranged from the rank of Superintendent of Police to Senior Commissioner of Police.
He stated that this program is part of the career development initiative by the Uganda Police Force, aiming to enhance officer performance through comprehensive training.
The program encompassed three components, including a certificate in senior command and staff provided by the college, certificate in institutional leadership and management taught by UMI, and Master’s degrees in Peace and Conflict Studies taken by 27 officers and Security and Strategic Studies by 14 officers and conducted by Makerere University and Nkumba University, respectively.
