Minister of Water and Environment Kahinda Otafiire has told Parliament that he raised concerns about Uganda’s digital number plate project before it was implemented but was overpowered by other decision-makers. Otafiire said he questioned whether the technology would deliver the security benefits promised by the government, raising fresh questions about how the controversial project was designed, approved and implemented.

Otafiire made the revelations while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure alongside former Works and Transport Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala. The two were summoned to explain their roles in the government agreement with Joint Stock Company, the Russian firm contracted to implement the digital number plate project. Both officials were serving in government during the period when the agreement was being developed and implemented.

During his appearance, Otafiire said he had consulted technical institutions, including Makerere University, before raising concerns about the system’s technical feasibility. He told legislators that the technology involved a potential compatibility problem between police CCTV cameras manufactured using Chinese technology and tracking chips supplied through the Russian-linked project. According to him, the two technologies could not work together as required, potentially undermining the system’s intended security functions.

“I resisted after thorough consultations because the CCTV cameras were Chinese and the chips were Russian, and the two were not compatible. But I was overpowered,” Otafiire told the committee. His testimony suggests that technical concerns were raised before the project proceeded, although the committee’s wider inquiry will be important in establishing how those concerns were assessed and whether any corrective measures were considered.

The minister further claimed that problems became apparent after the devices were installed. According to Otafiire, police discovered that the system could identify a vehicle’s location but could not effectively track its movements as expected. He said the technology appeared to operate more like a fleet management system than a security system designed to support police investigations and other law enforcement operations.

“After installation, police discovered that the digital formula employed was a fleet management system rather than a security one,” Otafiire said. Fleet management systems are commonly used by organisations to monitor vehicles, their locations and operational activities. A security-focused system, however, is expected to provide capabilities that can assist law enforcement in identifying and tracking vehicles relevant to investigations. Whether the installed system met the government’s original technical requirements is among the issues raised by the testimony.

Gen. Katumba Wamala, who served as Works and Transport Minister during the project’s implementation, also questioned aspects of the arrangement. He told the committee that his ministry became involved at a later stage, while the Ministry of Security had taken the lead in the project. His remarks raised questions about how responsibilities were distributed among government institutions and which agencies were directly involved in making key technical and implementation decisions.

Katumba also expressed concern about the manufacturing facility that was expected to be established at Kyambogo to support local production of digital number plates. He said machinery had been installed at the site but questioned whether meaningful manufacturing was taking place. “There is no manufacturing in Kyambogo. There are machines but no manufacturing,” he told legislators, raising further questions about whether the project had delivered on its local production commitments.

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The parliamentary inquiry comes amid scrutiny of the digital number plate scheme’s cost, implementation and promised security benefits. Otafiire’s account has brought renewed attention to the technical concerns allegedly raised before implementation, while Katumba’s testimony has highlighted questions about institutional responsibilities and the Kyambogo facility. Parliament is seeking to establish how the project was designed, who made the key decisions and whether the technology delivered the intended results. The ministers’ statements present their accounts to the committee; the wider investigation will be needed to establish the full facts and determine whether any failures occurred.