By Ben Musanje
The growing infiltration of narcotic drugs into homes and schools has emerged as a major concern, even as Uganda recorded a 10.2 percent decline in overall crime in 2025, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Tom Magambo has said.
Presenting the Uganda Police Force Annual Crime Report 2025 at police headquarters Naguru on Monday, the Director Criminal Investigations Magambo noted that whereas total reported cases dropped from 218,715 in 2024 to 196,405 in 2025, the impact of drug abuse is increasingly being felt across communities.
“While the figures indicate a reduction in narcotics-related cases handled by police, the magnitude and impact on our society is becoming of interest,” he said, warning that drugs are “beginning to infiltrate our schools and our homes.”
He revealed that police register a serious drug-related case involving families roughly every two weeks, often affecting children from relatively well-off households, signaling a worrying social trend that requires national attention.
Magambo said the overall reduction in crime reflects a cumulative decline recorded over the past four years, although he cautioned that isolated incidents of violence still occur and efforts are ongoing to further reduce crime to manageable levels.
On case management, he disclosed that 115,301 cases were submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, of which 79,291 were taken to court. A total of 31,732 convictions were secured from 24,899 concluded cases. However, some cases were dismissed, others resulted in acquittals, while a number remain under investigation, contributing to backlog.
He attributed part of the backlog to limited human resource capacity, noting that detectives are currently handling an average caseload of 54 cases per officer, far above the global standard of about 12 cases. He also cited the public’s tendency to report civil disputes as criminal cases, which are later redirected to civil courts, further straining investigative resources.
A breakdown of crime categories shows declines across several major offenses. Theft remained the most reported crime with 56,360 cases, though still lower than the previous year. Assault cases dropped to 26,366 from 29,580 in 2024, while sex-related offenses stood at 12,606, representing 6.4 percent of total crime.
Domestic violence cases declined by 12.2 percent to 12,361, while economic and corruption-related crimes registered 11,548 cases, a slight reduction. Break-ins also dropped by 12.5 percent to 11,818 cases, though Magambo stressed that such incidents remain a serious concern for police.
Other crimes that recorded declines include threatening violence (8,848 cases), obtaining by false pretenses (8,455), child-related offenses (8,064), robbery (7,863), malicious damage to property (7,303), and criminal trespass (6,467). Homicide cases stood at 4,238, accounting for 2.2 percent of total crime, reflecting a slight decrease from the previous year.
However, land-related conflicts registered a sharp increase, with 663 cases reported in 2025 compared to 397 in 2024, representing a 67 percent rise. Magambo noted that this figure only reflects direct land disputes, excluding related crimes such as trespass and murder, suggesting the actual scale of land-related conflict could be much higher.
On terrorism, eight cases were recorded in 2025, down from 26 in 2024, with all suspects arrested and currently within the criminal justice system. Meanwhile, a combined category of other offenses—including environmental crimes, wildlife offenses, kidnappings, and attempted suicide—also declined to 18,684 from 20,785.
Magambo also highlighted the relative calm during the 2025 electoral period, during which 800 cases of electoral-related violence were recorded, mostly linked to parliamentary contests and political disagreements. He described the election period as one of the most peaceful in recent cycles, with no widespread looting reported in Kampala.
Despite the overall positive trend, he emphasized that emerging threats such as narcotics abuse and land conflicts require urgent and coordinated intervention.
“We are making progress in reducing overall crime, but areas like narcotics require deeper reflection and action from all stakeholders,” Magambo said. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
