What began as a high-tech promise to tame Uganda’s deadly roads and dismantle vehicle theft networks has, nearly seven years on, become one of the country’s most contentious public-sector technology projects.

 

Launched in 2019, Uganda’s Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) was billed as a transformative solution to chronic road carnage, vehicle theft, and traffic lawlessness. The system, implemented through a controversial partnership with Russian firm Joint Stock Company Global Security (JSC), operating locally as Virtus Global Security Company Ltd, deploys AI-powered surveillance cameras, GPS-enabled digital number plates, and real-time integration with police databases.

 

Yet today, ITMS sits at the centre of mounting allegations of procurement irregularities, opaque revenue-sharing, data privacy violations, and foreign profiteering, sparking public anger and sustained parliamentary scrutiny.

 

The project, valued at USD 408 million (approximately UGX 1.48 trillion), operates under a cost-recovery model that allows JSC to recoup its investment over 10 years through user fees and fines, retaining up to 80 percent of penalty revenues. Government projections suggest the system could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in enforcement fines.

 

By late 2025, the Ministry of Works and Transport reported that over 300,000 digital number plates had been issued, with a target of one million by year’s end. Authorities credit ITMS with recovering 32 stolen vehicles and 13 motorcycles in Kampala alone.

 

However, critics argue the financial structure incentivises aggressive enforcement while exposing motorists, particularly commercial drivers and boda-boda riders, to punitive penalties.

 

Opposition lawmakers and civil society groups have repeatedly questioned how JSC secured the contract. A June 2025 parliamentary minority report cited “glaring irregularities,” alleging violations of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (PPDA) Act, including the absence of feasibility studies and inadequate due diligence.

 

During a heated May 2023 parliamentary session, Manjiya County MP John Baptist Nambeshe accused government of handpicking JSC, arguing that failure to conduct a feasibility study under Section 22 of the PPDA Act rendered the contract legally vulnerable.

 

Hansard records show Nakawa West MP Joel Ssenyonyi also raised concerns over JSC’s technical capacity and financial history, warning that granting a foreign firm access to sensitive national infrastructure posed serious governance risks.

 

 

Compounding concerns, foreign court records cited in parliamentary investigations linked JSC to multiple bankruptcy-related disputes between 2019 and 2021. Although full verification has proven difficult due to jurisdictional and language barriers, Ugandan lawmakers described the company as a “briefcase firm” ill-equipped to manage sensitive national data.

 

In July 2025, the High Court ordered government to disclose ITMS contracts, intensifying pressure on authorities to explain the deal’s secrecy.

 

Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka has defended the process, insisting the contract complied with the law and was backed by classified due diligence. JSC, for its part, maintains that ITMS is “secure, effective, and globally tested.”

 

Privacy fears escalated in late 2025 as civil society organisations warned that ITMS enables near real-time tracking of citizens, raising questions under the Data Protection and Privacy Act (DPPA) of 2019 and Article 27 of the Constitution.

 

Groups such as Unwanted Witness argue that safeguards around data storage, access, and cross-border transfers, particularly involving foreign entities, remain unclear. Although the Personal Data Protection Office issued guidelines in 2025, enforcement has been uneven.

 

Public frustration peaked in September 2025, when authorities temporarily suspended fines following widespread complaints about erroneous speed detections.

 

While government points to modest reductions in vehicle theft, police statistics tell a mixed story. The 2024 Annual Crime Report shows vehicle theft declined marginally to 999 cases, but road crashes rose by 6.4 percent, killing nearly 4,000 people.

 

Preliminary 2025 figures suggest the trend has worsened, with thefts involving digitally plated vehicles still accounting for a significant share of crime.

 

Security Minister Jim Muhwezi insists ITMS remains essential to national safety. Opposition MP Moses Kabuusu (Kyamuswa County) disagrees, calling the project “a governance failure that burdens citizens while enriching private interests.”

 

As Uganda grapples with ongoing court battles, unresolved investigations, and public distrust, experts argue ITMS reforms, ranging from contract audits and fairer revenue sharing to stronger data protection, are unavoidable.

 

This story was produced with support from the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME).