In what many are calling the biggest policy blunder of the decade, the Government of Uganda finds itself at the center of a swelling scandal over the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS) and its Automated Express Penalty System (EPS) meant to modernize road safety enforcement and reduce the country’s rising road carnage, the initiative has instead exposed serious allegations of corruption, mismanagement, and what critics describe as an elaborate “daylight robbery” by a foreign ghost company.
Good plan Gone Bad
The ITMS was launched with noble intentions. Developed by the Ministry of Works and Transport, it promised to create safer roads using smart technology — including digital number plates, speed enforcement cameras, red-light detection, CCTV surveillance, command centers, and an integrated database.
The Automated Express Penalty System (EPSAuto) was at the heart of it, designed to detect violations like over-speeding or red-light running, automatically generate e-fines, and notify offenders via SMS or email.
The EPSAuto system was to revolutionize how traffic laws are enforced in Uganda. With fines payable through mobile money, banks, and online portals linked to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), the system was pitched as a leap toward digital governance, transparency, and accountability in road safety.
Over the last decade (2014–2024), fatalities on Uganda’s roads have risen by a staggering 80.8%, from 2,845 deaths in 2014 to 5,144 in 2024. Vulnerable road users — pedestrians (1,666), passengers (1,307), and cyclists (138) — make up nearly 60% of these fatalities. Motorcyclists, including boda-boda passengers (1,720 and 614 respectively), contribute 47% of the total.
According to the Police Annual Crime Report 2024, speeding (5,505 cases) and careless overtaking (5,657 cases) were the leading causes of crashes.
These numbers underscore the need for serious intervention — and the government responded with updated traffic laws and new digital enforcement measures. But that’s where the good intentions ended.
Suspicion
When the EPS system was rolled out in April 2025, it met instant resistance from the public. Fines that had initially been presented to Parliament as shs 60,000 to shs 130,000 were suddenly inflated sixfold — to shs 200,000 and shs600,000 — without adequate public sensitization. Many have seen this as a predatory revenue-generating scheme rather than a safety initiative.
The backlash has been swift. Citizens protested the unaffordable penalties, boda-boda associations threatened to strike, and lawyers ran to court to challenge the legality of the system.
Citing numerous irregularities, the lawsuit accused the government of bypassing proper procedure, infringing on constitutional rights, and entering into a shady contract with a foreign firm without due diligence.
Under mounting pressure, Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, has been compelled to suspend the system indefinitely pending further consultation. But that was only the beginning.
Briefcase Firm
At the center of the scandal is a Russian firm called Joint Stock Company Global Security (JSC Global Security) — the mysterious entity contracted to implement and operate key elements of the EPS and ITMS.
According to documents by Parliament, Uganda plans to collect shs 3.8 trillion (approx. USD 1 billion) in fines over three years through this system. Shockingly, 80% of this revenue is earmarked for the Russian company.
That means only 20% remains with Uganda — and even that is reportedly hard to trace.
When a Ugandan delegation, including Members of Parliament and government officials from Uganda Police, travelled to Moscow to conduct due diligence, they were stunned to find no physical address for JSC Global Security in Russia.
Instead, officials claimed that the company operates a manufacturing plant in Poland, a country with increasingly tense relations with Russia. It raised red flags: How does a firm with no Russian presence claim to be “Russian”? And why is Uganda funding its operations?
Conflict of Interest & Tax Evasion Allegations
Digging deeper, critics uncovered more unsettling details. The law firm representing JSC Global Security in Uganda reportedly belongs to the Attorney General, raising serious conflict of interest concerns. A top legal officer of the state cannot simultaneously serve the interests of a private foreign firm in a public contract — at least not without compromising impartiality.
Even more damning, JSC Global Security is not registered on the URA’s Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS), meaning it does not pay taxes in Uganda, despite collecting billions in revenue from Ugandan motorists.
And while it is the primary beneficiary of the project, none of its directors or signatories are Ugandan. Every single shareholder and officer is Russian, and no local partner has been disclosed.
In effect, 100% of Uganda’s traffic fine collections are being funneled to a foreign entity — and no one seems to know where the money actually goes.
Parliament Misled?
Members of Parliament now claim that they were misled during the approval process. When the project was first pitched, the fines were modest and tolerable. It was presented as a public safety mechanism. But once endorsed, the terms reportedly changed without parliamentary oversight.
Several MPs have now publicly expressed regret for supporting the project. “We were lied to. We approved a system for better traffic enforcement, not a financial trap to milk Ugandans for foreign profiteers,” said one opposition legislator.
What Lies Ahead
As legal battles mount and public trust in the program erodes, many are asking tough questions:
Why was a foreign firm with no local presence awarded such a lucrative contract without competitive bidding?
Why didn’t the government insist on a tax compliance certificate from the URA before signing the deal?
Who in government facilitated this deal — and are they benefiting personally?
Why was the real cost structure hidden from Parliament and the public?
Unless these questions are answered transparently, the scandal threatens to become a defining symbol of state capture and financial exploitation.
The ITMS and EPS were designed to protect lives and improve order on Uganda’s chaotic roads. But instead of becoming a tool for national development, the system appears to have become a foreign-controlled cash cow, enriching a questionable firm with little oversight and no accountability to Ugandans.
As more details emerge, public outrage is likely to grow — and so will demands for a full investigation, a review of the procurement process, and prosecution of any officials found to have flouted procedures.
In the end, Uganda may have embraced a digital future — but at what cost?
