General
Makerere starts training in soft skills among Uganda police officers
Participants posing for a group photo after the workshop Makerere stats training in soft skills among Uganda police officers Makerere University through the Makerere University Research and Innovation Fund (Mak-RIF) is set to impart soft skills in all Police Officers in Uganda. The idea is in a bid to strike a balance between the hard skills and soft skills in their police work.
While presiding over a training workshop in Bwebajja last week, Dr. Badru Musisi, the Principal Investigator in this project dubbed, “soft skilling initiative for effective community policing” said, the project came in the wake of the public outcry concerning surging police brutality which was manifested in form of news and torture pictures which went viral on social media. The project he revealed, is expected to be rolled out next year.
“There was a growing disconnect between the police and the Wanainchi. The idea of community policing is for police to work hand in hand with the community to keep law and order.” He said, during a Police officers’ training workshop held at the Senior Police Command College in Bwebajja.
He said when Makerere University tasked him to write projects that fall under the government priority areas, one of the priority areas was about defense, security and peace.
“We expect to have community-friendly, wanainchi-friendly and people-friendly police officers in the country. It is going to improve the image of Uganda police and the cooperation between the police force and the communities,” Dr. Musisi added.
Dr. Musisi said they will be training police officers in the training schools and colleges, who will then pass on the skills to the cadets across the country. He revealed that the whole project will cost more than Shs.700m to traverse all the stakeholders needed.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Grace Mutono, Director staff at the Senior Police Command College, Bwebajja said the soft skills will help to establish a good relationship between police and the public.
“We hope for a free flow of information. There will be handling of criminality with a lot of ease. Where a police officer does not use soft skills, it becomes hard because they will use a hard lined approach only,” he noted.
Prof. Christopher B. Mugimu, CO-Principal Investigator of the project said this will change the mindset of people and bring them closer to the police. And it will ease handling of sensitive issues with a lot of professionalism.
Makerere University has received 700 digital tablets from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), aimed at enhancing statistical research, teaching, and data-driven decision-making across the institution.
The donation was made on June 30, 2025, as part of UBOS’ broader initiative to distribute a total of 3,025 tablets to ten government-funded institutions of higher learning. The handover ceremony was attended by Makerere’s Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi and Mr. Simon Kizito, the Deputy University Secretary among other Vice Chancellors and accounting officers.
Dr. Allen Kabagenyi, a UBOS Board Director, who coordinated the distribution of the tablets to the respective 10 Public universities, underscored the significance of inter-institutional collaboration in fostering a data-literate and innovative generation. “This initiative is a testament to the power of partnerships between public institutions. In a country like Uganda, with one of the youngest populations globally, equipping our future leaders with the right tools is critical to achieving both national and global development goals,” she remarked.
The tablets had initially been procured and deployed during the recently concluded National Population and Housing Census. UBOS Executive Director Dr. Chris Mukiza explained that their redistribution marks the beginning of the Bureau’s post-census utilization strategy.
“We acquired 120,000 tablets to conduct the census, and as we committed earlier, we are ensuring that these resources continue to serve the country even after the census,” said Dr. Mukiza. “Our expectation is that these tablets will strengthen data collection, teaching, and research in universities and higher institutions. We want to see a culture where statistics are not only produced but also actively used to influence development outcomes.”
Dr. Mukiza encouraged academic institutions to take full advantage of the extensive data available at UBOS, emphasizing that greater use of statistical resources will translate into more impactful research and policy interventions.
During the same event – cultural institutions also received tablets.
With this donation, Makerere University is well-positioned to further empower students and researchers in statistical analysis, evidence-based planning, and innovation-driven teaching.
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