The new Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Abas Byakagaba, is visiting several police directorates, units and commands as part of an initiation programme to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the institution he took charge of in May.

From his office at Naguru Police Headquarters, IGP Byakagaba probably sees residences of more than 1,000 of his low-ranking officers.

The officers in question have spent more than a month fetching contaminated water from wellsprings a mile or so away.

This is after the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) turned off water supply to the barracks in July after the Uganda Police Force (UPF) failed to pay water bill arrears north of Shs15b.

While the bill accumulated before IGP Byakagaba came in, it is his responsibility to clear it and connect his officers back to the water system. The water crisis is one of the pointers to the state of the Force. The handover report of former IGP Martins Okoth Ochola gives a real picture of the Force that Mr Byakagaba has been entrusted to turn around.

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