The government has defended the ongoing rollout of digital number plates, dismissing claims by legislators that the project is a hoax.
Officials from the Ministry of Works and Transport told Parliament that the project is already underway, with hundreds of thousands of plates installed across the country.
The clarification was made by Winstone Katushabe while appearing before Parliament’s Fiscal Infrastructure Committee to provide an update on the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System (ITMS).
During the meeting, MP Maurice Henry Kibalya cast doubt on the credibility of the digital number plate project.
Kibalya described the initiative as questionable and suggested it should be discussed separately because of the concerns surrounding it.
“You people issues of digital number plates. It has its own issues and it is a hoax,” he said.
Government Rejects Hoax Claims
However, Katushabe rejected the allegation, insisting the project is a legitimate government program.
“Again honorable saying it is a hoax, I think that is also unfortunate but I may not force him to withdraw this honorable chair. This is a government program. There could be some challenges but I don’t think it is a hoax,” Katushabe said.
The ministry revealed that as of 23 March 2026, a total of 290253 digital number plates had already been installed on both motorcycles and motor vehicles.
Katushabe provided the breakdown to MPs:
Motorcycles: 218781 installations
Vehicles: 71472 installations
The digital plates are part of the Intelligent Transport Monitoring System, which government launched in January 2025 following directives from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as part of efforts to curb criminality.
MPs Raise Concern Over Stolen Plates
Members of the committee also raised concerns that the new digital number plates can be stolen, leaving motorists to pay the full cost again to replace them.
Legislators questioned why victims of theft must still pay the same amount when acquiring a new plate.
Katushabe explained that motorists must first report the theft to police before action can be taken.
“When these digital plates are stolen the first thing you should do is report to police. Sometimes people keep quiet. They don’t want to report and instead run to social media saying they thought the number plate would be seen immediately,” he said.
He added that once a case is reported, the command center can track the number plate through the monitoring system.
War Impacting Supply of Installation Kits
Officials also acknowledged that the rollout has faced some logistical challenges.
They explained that the supply of installation kits has been affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, though some equipment is still available to continue the installation exercise.