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Kampala, Uganda | URN | The Deputy Commander of the Field Force Unit, Commissioner of Police Ecotu Agapitus, has passed on at Mulago Hospital. The cause of death is still unknown.
At the time of his death, he was the Deputy Commander of the Field Force Unit (FFU), the elite police formation in charge of public order, riot control and tactical operations, serving under AIGP John Nuwagira after his transfer in the 2024 reshuffle by IGP Abbas Byakagaba.
Police sources at Naguru say his death has deprived the Force of one of its most experienced senior officers, whose career spanned administration, field operations and international peacekeeping.
Before his deployment to the FFU, Ecotu served in the Directorate of Human Resource Administration at Police Headquarters, where he was in charge of personnel and institutional management.
He also served in the Counter-Terrorism Directorate, including under the Oil and Gas Protection Division created to secure critical national infrastructure, and held senior command responsibilities in the Rwenzori region, where he managed sensitive operations involving the reception of surrendering Rwenzururu Royal Guards after the Kasese clashes in 2016.
Ecotu rose through the ranks. In June 2023, President Museveni promoted him from Assistant Commissioner of Police to Commissioner of Police as part of a mass promotion of 1,638 officers.
His expertise earned him a shortlisting for United Nations police positions under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), now ATMIS.
In February 2022, he was present at Aljazeera 2 Camp in Mogadishu for the handover of a new Ugandan Formed Police Unit contingent.
There, he was involved in training and mentoring the Somali Police Force, advising on police reforms, and overseeing Ugandan Individual Police Officers deployed under the AU.
Colleagues describe him as a disciplined, consistent, and dependable officer with a clean record.
Police Spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke, who was in Entebbe among the government officials who received the body of King Oyo, said an official statement detailing the cause of death and burial arrangements will be issued in due course.
