Summary:

• The Ugandan police force has strongly criticized the use of its personnel or images in advertisements that portray the institution as easily influenced by trivial items like juice. This reaction comes in response to a controversial commercial featuring its traffic officers endorsing Jesa Jus, a popular juice brand.

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Police force has condemned Ugandans using images or its personnel in adverts that depict the institution as easily corrupted with simple things such as juice. This follows the use of its traffic image, as content in a controversial commercial advert, of its juice, popularly known as Jesa Jus.

Senior Commissioner of Police (SCP) Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, said the TV Ad deceptively suggests that a traffic officer, during a normal traffic enforcement routine, stopped a driver for inspection but was immediately compromised, with a pack of Jesa Jus.

In the advert, the panicky driver and children quickly gave a police officer a pack of Jesa Jus and he then left them to proceed without inspection in his words. This was after taking the Jesus Jus. Police argues that the Ad made reference to the traffic police, as being corrupt and easily bribed by Jesus Jus.
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“The driver is seen, allegedly bribing a traffic officer with a packet of Jesa Jus in front of children and lets them off the hook. It therefore, draws a link between the traffic officer, the driver and children. The driver and children are depicted as traffic violators,” Enanga said.

Police observes that the advert promotes acts of bribery among children that you can easily buy your way out, once caught up in a compromising situation. Enanga said the force believes that the advert reinforces negative perceptions by children against police.

“The appearance of a lookalike traffic officer and the use of the police uniform without the express permission of the IGP is strictly prohibited, since it is fully gazetted. In addition, the advert deceptively suggests that the police leadership endorses the product of Jesa Jus and further supports, the campaign to market, sell and drink the product, which is not true,” Enanga said.

As a result, police have demanded that the commercial firm, pulls out the traffic police content or the entire advert, and halts any further displays on TV, radios and other digital platforms. Failure to do so, will call for sanction in the civil court of law, by the Directorate of Legal and Human Rights Services.

“We urge all intending marketers and Ad producers to always seek authorization or usage of the police image and content before producing a commercial advert,” Enanga said.

With inputs from DailyPress