Salary guide · Uganda
Security guard and police salary in Uganda: 2026/27 scales
Government pay for askaris, police constables, prisons warders and other ranks from the 2026/27 salary structure. Private security firms set their own pay.
Security work in the public service is paid on two schedules. An askari employed by a district is advertised at U8 of the general structure: Jinja District advertised one in 2025/26. Police and prisons ranks are paid on Schedule 5, which covers the Uganda Police Force and the Uganda Prisons Service. The figures below are monthly gross salaries for 2026/27.
| Post and scale | 2026/27 per month |
|---|---|
| Askari in local government, U8 Lower | 187,660 to 213,832 |
| Askari in local government, U8 Upper | 209,859 to 237,069 |
| Police Constable or Prisons Warder (U7 Lower) | 583,666 to 604,680 |
| Lance Corporal (U7 Upper) | 608,999 to 622,185 |
| Corporal, police or prisons (U6 Lower) | 626,991 to 665,503 |
| Sergeant, police or prisons (U6 Upper) | 675,734 to 716,664 |
| Assistant Inspector of Police or Chief Warder (U5 Lower) | 932,187 |
| Assistant Inspector of Police or Principal Officer I and II (U5 Upper) | 1,247,503 |
| Assistant Superintendent of Police or Prisons, administrative (U4 Lower) | 1,551,496 to 1,698,299 |
A range means the scale has several salary points. The police and prisons figures are the same in 2026/27 as in 2025/26. The Jinja advert gives the askari post as U8 without naming the band.
Private security companies
Guards employed by private security firms, schools, hospitals and companies are paid what their contract says, not the public scale. Ask whether the figure is for day or night shifts, how many shifts make a month and whether uniform or meals are deducted.
When we checked on 12 October 2026, none of the security adverts on work.co.ug published a salary figure.
Local Service Tax does not apply to the forces
Members of the Uganda Police Force, the Uganda Prisons Service, the UPDF and local defence units are exempt from Local Service Tax. An askari employed by a district or a company is not exempt and pays it once monthly pay exceeds UGX 100,000.
PAYE starts above UGX 335,000 a month. On UGX 604,680, the top of the Police Constable scale, PAYE is UGX 69,654 a month.
Sources
Checked 12 October 2026. Each figure keeps the period and scope of its source.
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