Uganda’s digital plates pass MPs’ live test, but costs remain under scrutiny

Ugandan lawmakers put their own vehicles to the test to settle a question about the country’s digital number plates: could the system actually find them? At the Police Command Centre in Naguru, screens displayed the vehicles’ locations as they moved. The demonstration confirmed the tracking function for MPs, but left questions about costs, delivery and the contractor’s capacity unresolved, according to Nile Post Uganda (direct).

The Parliamentary Committee on Physical Infrastructure, led by Mwine Mpaka, carried out the test on Friday, October 2. Members had questioned whether tracking worked within the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System, or ITMS, the programme behind the digital plates. Instead of relying on a prepared demonstration, they used vehicles carrying their own digital plates. That gave the committee direct evidence of the system’s ability to locate those vehicles.

Mpaka said the exercise established that cars and motorcycles could be tracked. He described digital plates as important while calling for improvements to the system. The demonstration answered the committee’s immediate question about whether the tracking component functioned; its wider examination of the programme is continuing.

Committee chair Mwine Mpaka said the test confirmed vehicle tracking worked, while improvements to the system still needed attention.

Recovery figures reveal a motorcycle gap

The visit followed a September 30 briefing at which Security Minister Jim Muhwezi told MPs that the tracking system was operating nationwide and had assisted in recovering stolen vehicles. Police Director of ICT AIGP Felix Baryamwisaki supplied figures showing a sharp difference between motor vehicles and motorcycles. Of 375 stolen motor vehicles, police had tracked and recovered 337, or about 90%. For stolen motorcycles fitted with digital plates, 174 of 782 had been recovered, roughly 22%.

Those figures leave lawmakers with two distinct findings: the live demonstration showed that vehicles could be located, while police reported a much lower recovery rate for motorcycles. Police also told the committee that the technology uses GPS, a satellite-based system for determining location, rather than cameras. The comparatively weak motorcycle recovery figure remains part of Parliament’s inquiry.

Contractor and delivery remain in focus

Russia-based Joint Stock Company Global Security is implementing ITMS under a 10-year agreement signed with the government in 2021. The project has faced scrutiny over plate prices, delays in issuing them, shortages and the contractor’s capacity. Stakeholders who appeared before Parliament also challenged whether the security benefits justified the cost. The successful tracking test did not settle those separate concerns.

There was evidence of shorter waits in the capital. The Ministry of Works and Transport told the committee that the average waiting time for digital plates in Kampala had dropped from 19 days in December 2025 to two days in September 2026. Parliament will next continue examining plate costs, the contractor’s ability to deliver and the motorcycle recovery gap. The Naguru test provides practical evidence on tracking; the broader assessment of the programme remains unfinished.