The Uganda Police Force has taken over the training of private security guards to ensure they meet professional standards and do not pose a risk to the public.
The revelation was made by David Muhoozi, Minister of State for Internal Affairs, during a Parliamentary session on a petition by Private Security Organisations (PSOs).
He revealed that the first cohort of 7,085 trainees is expected to complete training on 24th April 2026, with the program funded by taxpayers.
“In the proposed review of the regulations, we propose that the private security guards will be either trained from police training schools or police trainers are deployed to accredited Private Security Organisations at a subsidised cost to ensure quality standardised training,” Minister Muhoozi said.
“Actually, as we speak now, we have something like 7,085 undergoing training by the police free of charge in some of our schools for private security organisations and these belong to different agencies or security, private security organisations,” he added.
Minister Muhoozi also revealed that a standard training curriculum has been developed to enhance professionalism, improve public confidence, and equip guards with skills in conflict resolution, surveillance, and emergency response.
Wilson Kajwengye, the Nyabushozi County MP, supported the government’s move but called for a separate law to regulate private security.
“Regulating them is absolutely in order. However, the regulations that you so elaborately caught stem from the Police Act and the Constitution. Is it not about time, that the Ministry comes up with a Bill to regulate private security organisations establishment and regulation bill?” Kajwengye said.
Kajwengye emphasized the challenges of regulating a sector that can sometimes outsize the authorities themselves.
He warned that overseeing private security organisations without proper legal backing could strain resources and attention.
“If you are going to regulate an organisation whose strength outnumbers yours, it is highly likely that it will distract you or you will use more resources than you would ordinarily have used.”
Kajwengye cited South Africa as an example, saying, “They even have a private security practitioner’s authority. Because while for them, I think they are close to half a million employees in private security.”
