The Inspector-General of Police, Martin Ochola, has ordered a validation exercise of all the 3,800 police pensioners. The confirmation process for all police officers who retired after hitting 60 years, including those that were retired on medical or physical grounds, starts on July 11 and will go up to the 30th of this month.
In his statement, Ochola explains that the purpose of the exercise is to establish the existence and status of pensioners as well as bona fide beneficiaries for those pensioners who died and are on the police payroll.
“The results will help in cleaning the payroll and further strengthen the creation of sustainable policies, systems, programmes and strategies for effective management of pension and retirement benefits for the Uganda Police Force,” Ochola explains.
However, earlier information indicated that Ochola’s validation exercise was prompted by the rot discovered during the March verification of all retirees aged 75 and above. The police embarked on scrutinising the existence of 750 retirees who, according to the documents, were over 75 years of age.
Ochola ordered all the elderly to show up physically at Naguru police headquarters in order to prove that they were still alive. Sources at Naguru police say it was discovered that close to 100 retirees had passed on years back but their pensions continued to be paid without any change in their beneficiary status.
By the end of April, we had discovered that close to 100 retirees who by now would be 85 years or older had died, but they had continued to earn pensions without any status update. Some, according to the documents, retired more than 30 years ago, and many died five to 10 years ago, “a source said.
The Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga, explains that beneficiaries of officers who have since passed away must present copies of original National Identification Cards, Letters of Administration or Death Certificates for the deceased, as well as filled copies of “life certificates”.
Apart from retirees within the Kampala Metropolitan area who will physically report themselves to police headquarters in Naguru starting on July 11, others have been encouraged to appear at their respective regional police headquarters.
“Those who will not appear for the exercise shall be deleted from the pension payroll and will only be reactivated after physically appearing at the Uganda Police Force Headquarters for physical validation,” reads Ochola’s directive.
Sources further intimated that the police human resource and pension verification teams were shocked to establish that even police officers whose deaths were communicated to various departments years ago were still having their pensions drawn with no letter of administration or death certificate put in their files.