In a firm and clear address during the national budget reading, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni silenced swirling concerns surrounding the controversial implementation of digital number plates and the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS).
Responding to growing public outcry over what many believed was a veiled move to extort motorists through automated fines, the President drew a line in the sand—this initiative, he stressed, is about security, not revenue.
“Finally, I saw some issues about the digital number plates and fines. That people are being fined for I don’t know what. But the issue about the number plates is not about fines, it is anti-crime,” Museveni declared, brushing off allegations that the systems were designed to penalise road users indiscriminately.
His remarks came just a day after the Ministry of Transport suspended the Express Penalty System (EPS Auto), a system that had recently triggered widespread backlash for its seemingly harsh and automated issuing of penalties. Critics had raised red flags about the growing number of fines issued without clear communication or recourse.
But Museveni was unyielding in his defence of the broader digital infrastructure initiative. For him, the safety of Ugandans must come first.
“I cannot accept our Ugandans dying because of incomplete infrastructure. The cameras have helped us handle a number of things,” the President said.
He highlighted the capabilities of the new digitised number plates, which are part of a larger surveillance and emergency response system. These plates are linked to a central command force, he explained, equipped with technology that can trigger an alarm at the slightest unauthorised tampering—an important tool in fighting crime and ensuring swift responses in case of incidents.
“These digitised number plates have a central command force. You touch it, and an alarm goes off. That’s their work—not collecting fines and so on,” Museveni emphasised.
The President’s address aimed to rebuild public trust in what has been a polarising shift in the country’s transport monitoring policy. With the suspension of the EPS Auto and a national dialogue reemerging, many now await the next steps, hoping that a balance between safety and fairness can be struck.
