By KT Reporter
Spouses of policemen in Kiira Region are calling for improved living conditions, saying better housing and infrastructure will allow them to live with dignity and support their husbands more effectively in service. The concerns were raised during a meeting with top police leadership led by Undersecretary Aggrey Wunyi at Jinja Police Barracks earlier this week.
The women cited poor housing, dilapidated sanitation facilities, leaking roofs, cracked walls, and frequent power outages as major challenges affecting their day-to-day lives. One spouse, speaking on condition of anonymity, said most toilets and water pipes are in disrepair, and overcrowded housing forces families to share rooms, affecting privacy and exposing children to early immorality.
“The room which was once hosting my family of six was subdivided using plywood to accommodate another policeman’s family of four,” she said. Her family has since relocated to the village to protect the children, but her husband struggles to visit due to transport costs.
Mercy Anena, another spouse, said congested housing limits privacy for married couples, often forcing them to rent outside the barracks. “Most of the houses have no privacy for the married, creating endless gossip and undermining the decency of women,” she said.
In response, Wunyi urged police officers to practice responsible living, plan for retirement, and avoid financial mismanagement, including alcoholism and polygamy, which he said drains salaries and undermines family stability. “Officers should opt for gradual investments, which is key to building stability and meaningful living, since government cannot meet all their needs,” Wunyi said.
He advised officers to invest while still active in the force, warning that retiring without prior planning leaves them vulnerable to exploitative business schemes. Wunyi added that retirees seeking contracts after 60 face impractical challenges in achieving business success in a short time.
He also hinted at a planned welfare policy allowing officers to retire at 45 if they have preplanned investments to ensure a sustainable post-service life.
Wunyi highlighted a police-run poultry hatchery at Kabalye Police Training School, which supports officers’ spouses in Kampala with poultry projects. Spouses in other regions were encouraged to construct poultry houses, purchase feed, secure recommendations from their regional commanders, and order day-old chicks from the hatchery.
Wunyi was joined by CP Jamal Basalirwa (Head Protocol), CP Abubaker Ziwedde (Directorate of Logistics and Engineering), and SSP Charles Nsaba, the Kiira Regional Police Commander. The officers briefed spouses on the ongoing prefabricated modular housing project in Kampala, which will be rolled out across the country to provide decent housing for all staff. Plans also include underground water systems to ensure uninterrupted supply.
On health and education welfare, police highlighted partnerships with five specialized hospitals in Uganda and one in India, where six children of police officers underwent successful open-heart surgeries abroad. They also announced the construction of a secondary school for staff children to continue their education locally after primary school.
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