The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Lino Anguzu, has delivered a technical position statement outlining Uganda’s crime prevention strategy and highlighting the growing use of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, encrypted communications, virtual assets and cross-border financial systems by criminal and terrorist networks.
Anguzu made the remarks while delivering Uganda’s statement on addressing and countering crime, including organised crime and terrorism, at the UN Congress on Crime Prevention in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He told delegates that Uganda’s criminal justice institutions have demonstrated resilience since 2020 in responding to terrorism, organised crime and transnational crime.
He highlighted Uganda Police crime reports indicating that reported criminal cases increased from 195,931 in 2020 to 231,653 in 2022, before declining to 196,405 in 2025.
He, however, noted that emerging and evolving forms of crime continue to pose significant challenges.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Strategic Analysis of Organised Crime in Uganda highlights the complex and interconnected nature of organised criminal activity, including links to transnational trafficking, illicit financial flows and cyber-enabled crime.
DPP Anguzu observed that in 2025, Uganda recorded 412 cybercrime cases, 18 money-laundering cases and one terrorism-financing case involving billions of Uganda shillings.
In response to these challenges, Uganda has strengthened specialised structures within its criminal justice institutions, intensified intelligence-led investigations, expanded prosecution-guided investigations, and enhanced international cooperation and asset recovery mechanisms.
Plea-bargaining initiatives have also contributed to reducing case backlogs, while an Inter-Agency Committee on International Cooperation has been established to strengthen coordination in international legal cooperation.
Uganda reaffirmed its commitment to working with Member States and partners to build specialised, adequately resourced and well-coordinated criminal justice institutions capable of effectively responding to new, emerging and evolving criminal threats.
Anguzu thanked President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and his government for providing the Uganda Police Force with technical and logistical support, which has enabled the force to strengthen collaboration with key stakeholders in the fight against organised crime.
