The police issued the statement to clarify its relationship with Huawei and to reiterate the government's dismissal of allegations, made in the Wall Street Journal last week, that alleged Ugandan officials had worked with technicians from the telecoms firm to hack into musician-turned-MP Bobi Wine's WhatsApp messages.

Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said the story was "malicious" and it was not using Huawei to spy on the opposition.

He said the CCTV roll-out was going well,with nearly 85% of areas already covered in the capital, Kampala.

Quote Message: We wish to assure all Ugandans that there are no concerns in using Huawei technology. Our relationship is purely business... The cameras are already transforming modern-day policing in Uganda with facial recognition and artificial intelligence as part of policing and security.

We wish to assure all Ugandans that there are no concerns in using Huawei technology. Our relationship is purely business... The cameras are already transforming modern-day policing in Uganda with facial recognition and artificial intelligence as part of policing and security.

On Friday, Zambia, mentioned in the WSJ report, has also denied allegations of spying on the opposition.