Kenneth Asiimwe says Security Minister Jim Muhwezi should be assessed on the decisions he made and the responsibilities he held, as Parliament pushes for an audit of Uganda’s controversial digital number plates project.
Political mobiliser and advocate of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Kenneth Asiimwe has defended Security Minister Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Jim Muhwezi against what he described as premature political judgments over Uganda’s controversial digital number plates project, calling for investigations to establish individual responsibility based on evidence.
In a statement issued on October 17, 2026, Asiimwe urged Parliament, investigative agencies, political leaders and the media to distinguish documented facts from speculation as scrutiny of the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) intensifies.
“We must never underestimate the danger of allowing falsehoods and misleading narratives to circulate unchallenged,” Asiimwe said, arguing that political speculation could damage reputations before investigations establish the facts.
Asiimwe, the coordinator of the Sevolution Cross Sector Integrated Foundation of East Africa (SCIFEA), maintained that defending due process did not amount to endorsing the contract or seeking to obstruct investigations.
“Our position should never be misunderstood as an unconditional endorsement of the contract or an attempt to discourage investigations. We are defending the principle that responsibility must be established through evidence, not presumed through political association,” he said.
Asiimwe’s intervention comes as Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure presses the Auditor General to examine the project’s contractual arrangements, ownership, operations and financial implications.
On October 15, the committee directed Auditor General Edward Akol to conduct an urgent preliminary audit and submit findings by the following Tuesday. Akol told lawmakers that his office had received the project agreement only on October 13, 2026, and had previously lacked adequate information to undertake the audit.
The committee’s scrutiny follows questions about the failure to audit the project since its implementation began in 2021. The contract was awarded to Russian company Joint Stock Company Global Security to supply and install digital number plates and vehicle-tracking technology.
Asiimwe argued that the project’s history should be considered when assessing Muhwezi’s involvement, noting that key preparatory steps preceded his tenure as Security Minister.
He cited Muhwezi’s August 5, 2021, statement to Parliament, in which the minister said a presidential directive dated June 13, 2021, instructed him to expedite the conclusion of the agreement with the Russian company.
According to Asiimwe, due diligence on the proposed contractor had reportedly been undertaken in December 2018, while a memorandum of understanding was signed on March 19, 2019, during the tenure of former Security Minister Gen Elly Tumwine (now deceased).
He also cited reports that the July 2021 agreement was signed by the responsible Permanent Secretaries, with Muhwezi witnessing the signing in his ministerial capacity.
Asiimwe said these details should be examined alongside the contractual documents, procurement procedures and legal advice provided during the negotiations.
He invoked Article 119 of the Constitution, which establishes the Attorney General as the Government’s principal legal adviser, arguing that the legal opinions issued during the contracting process were relevant to a comprehensive examination of the deal.
However, he acknowledged that Muhwezi’s role in expediting and overseeing implementation remained a legitimate subject of scrutiny.
“If irregularities occurred, the law must take its course, but no individual should be condemned merely because their name appears in a public controversy,” he said.
The digital number plates project has faced scrutiny over procurement, implementation, costs and the performance of the tracking technology.
On September 28, 2026, the Uganda Manufacturers Association raised concerns before Parliament about the foreign company’s exclusive position in manufacturing the plates, arguing that the arrangement had contributed to delays, higher costs and business disruptions.
During a September 30 appearance before the infrastructure committee, Muhwezi defended the system’s security benefits, citing the recovery of stolen vehicles.
Police Director of ICT Felix Baryamwisaki told lawmakers that 337 of 375 stolen motor vehicles had been recovered, representing a reported recovery rate of about 90 per cent.
Asiimwe said such reported results should be considered when evaluating the system’s intended security benefits, while maintaining that operational performance does not remove the need to scrutinise procurement compliance and financial accountability.
He urged investigators to examine the project’s conception, due diligence, procurement, presidential correspondence, legal opinions, contractual approvals and the roles of the government institutions involved.
He said the inquiry should establish which decisions were made by individual officials, the authority under which they acted and whether the applicable laws were followed.
Asiimwe, who describes himself as a political mobiliser and advocate of NRM) and PLU, said political disagreement should not be treated as proof of administrative misconduct.
“Political visibility is not a substitute for legal understanding. Online popularity is not documentary evidence. And personal disagreement with a public official does not establish administrative misconduct,” he said.
He called on media practitioners, bloggers and political leaders to exercise restraint when discussing the project, urging them to distinguish substantiated allegations from unverified claims.
He also praised President Museveni’s efforts to modernise Uganda’s security infrastructure, while arguing that technological development must be accompanied by lawful procurement, sound financial management and institutional oversight.
Asiimwe maintained that Muhwezi’s role should be assessed against the responsibilities he exercised and the evidence available to investigators.
“Accountability must be comprehensive, not selective. Public scrutiny must be principled, not vindictive. And justice must remain guided by evidence, not political convenience,” he said.
The Auditor General’s preliminary audit is expected to provide Parliament with further information about the project’s contractual and operational arrangements.
The audit and parliamentary scrutiny had not, at the time of the reports cited above, established a final finding of individual wrongdoing.