Police regret officer's actions in viral national cleaning day beating

• Police described the officer's actions in the viral video as regrettable.

• Kituuma Rusoke said commanders are handling the matter under professional standards.

• Bobi Wine condemned the use of force during enforcement of the National Cleaning Day exercise.

Uganda Police have described as "regrettable" the actions of an officer captured on video repeatedly caning and shoving a man during last Saturday's National Cleaning Day exercise.

The video, which circulated widely on social media, shows the officer beating the man while demanding to know why he was not taking part in the mandatory community cleaning exercise. The officer is also heard asking the man who he thought he was.

The footage drew widespread criticism, with National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, accusing the government of using force to enforce the sanitation campaign.

“The Ugandan regime at it again! Now using force and violence to enforce a 'cleaning campaign'! Again, they've lost any ability to persuade so they have to coerce. Sad!” Bobi Wine wrote on X.

Addressing journalists on Monday, Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner of Police Kituuma Rusoke said the officer's conduct had already been brought to the attention of police commanders.

“His actions are regrettable; I saw the video, and it was brought to the attention of the commanders and it will be addressed in accordance with our professional standards,” Rusoke said.

He defended the overall police operation, saying nearly all of the force's 50,000 officers had been deployed for the nationwide exercise and that the overwhelming majority conducted themselves professionally.

“We deployed nearly all the 50,000 police officers towards this cleaning exercise; but typical of social media; they singled out that one police officer,” he said.

Rusoke said the public largely complied with the exercise and described the incident as an isolated case.

“Otherwise the biggest number of deployed police officers and other agencies that participated did a very tremendous job and the people were largely compliant,” he said.

He added that enforcement operations can sometimes result in individual officers misinterpreting instructions.

“Those small qualms will always be there in an enforcement exercise. You will always find an officer who probably misinterpreted the orders. Those situations are not strange in an operational environment,” Rusoke said.

He also urged the public not to be swayed by social media discussions surrounding the incident.

“Don't fall for social media and people who are looking for content,” he said.