The digital number plate tracking system has helped police recover 337 of the 375 motor vehicles reported stolen or involved in crime, Parliament has been told.
Security Minister Jim Muhwezi told the House Committee on Physical Infrastructure on Wednesday that the system was operational across the country and had also helped recover vehicles beyond Uganda’s borders.
“The system is working; it covers the whole country. A Police vehicle was stolen and the system traced it to Kenya, and it was recovered because of the digital plates. So, it covers Uganda and beyond,” Mr Muhwezi said.
He was appearing before the committee alongside the State Minister for Internal Affairs, Juma Witonze, and the State Minister for Works and Transport (Transport), Julius Wandera.
The committee, chaired by Mwine Mpaka, is investigating concerns surrounding delays in the supply of digital number plates.
Members sought clarification on whether the tracking component of the Integrated Transport Management System (ITMS) was operational and capable of helping security agencies trace stolen vehicles.
Bunyole West County MP James Waluswaka said the need for effective vehicle tracking had become more urgent following the killing of former Arua Municipality MP Ibrahim Abiriga in 2018.
“I need an answer from the Minister in regards to this, because I have serious questions. Do these trackers really work?” Waluswaka asked.
Felix Baryamwisaki, the Uganda Police director of ICT who manages the ITMS, said the system had so far registered a 90 per cent recovery rate for stolen vehicles and those involved in crime.
He said 337 of the 375 stolen motor vehicles fitted with the digital number plates had been recovered.
However, Baryamwisaki said recovery of motorcycles remained a challenge, with only 174 of the 782 stolen motorcycles fitted with digital plates having been recovered, representing a 22 per cent recovery rate.
“This one will be solved. It is very low and this is countrywide. The tracker is in the GPS and not cameras,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Works and Transport said the waiting time for applicants seeking digital number plates had significantly reduced.
Winston Katushabe, the commissioner for transport regulation and safety, said applicants waited an average of 19 days in December 2025, compared with two days in September 2026.
He added that applicants at the Malaba and Mutukula One Stop border posts could receive the plates within hours.
The committee also questioned the Shs714,000 cost of digital number plates, with MPs arguing that the charge was too high for many Ugandans.
Namisindwa County MP Metrine Nanzala questioned why motorcycles and motor vehicles were subjected to the same charge despite differences in the earning capacity of their owners.
“Really, they sat and they had to come to an agreement that vehicles should pay the same amount as boda bodas, and they did not consider the fact that boda riders are low-income earners,” Nanzala said.
The committee has resolved to visit the ITMS monitoring centre to assess how the digital number plate system operates and verify its vehicle tracking and monitoring capabilities.
The visit will allow MPs to observe how vehicles are identified through their registration plates, how information is processed and how the system supports police operations.
The inspection will also form part of the committee’s assessment of the policy, contractual and operational framework governing the digital number plate project.
“We shall have our own number plates. Do not expect to show us your own number plates. We want to see if you are tracking,” Mwiine Mpaka said.
