UPDF struggles to attract trainees from Karamoja

Moroto, Uganda | The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) is struggling to attract suitable trainees from North Karamoja.

The recruitment exercise commenced on Tuesday with the districts of Kaabong, Karenga, Kotido and Abim. However, it was revealed that most of the candidates who were shortlisted for the interviews had no national identity cards, while others presented fake documents.

Col Santurino Mashereka Tumuranzye, the UPDF 3rd division training officer, said that they struggled to meet the target after realising that most of the candidates who were shortlisted lacked the national identity cards, while others failed the medical tests.

He also observed that some candidates presented forged documents during the interviews. Tumuranze noted that their target for North Karamoja was to raise a total of 228 successful applicants, but only 106 passed all the tests.

Tumuranzye explained that in Kaabong district, 02 candidates were dismissed out of 14 who were shortlisted, while Karenga had 06 successful out of 08. He further stated that Abim district had 71 successful applicants out of the 92, and while in Kotido district, only 17 candidates turned up for recruitment out of 19 who were shortlisted.

Tumuranzye said that they aim to raise 1001 candidates from the two sub-regions of Karamoja and Sebei. He also revealed that affirmative action at the age of 24 was given to the Karamojong since many of them claimed to have delayed joining school.

He added that Karamojong, as a region, was given a chance of recruiting candidates whose names were not on the short list.

On Saturday, the team conducted a similar exercise for shortlisted applicants from the Moroto and Napak districts, and will later head to Nakapiripirit district headquarters, where they will conduct recruitment from the districts of Amudat and Nabilatuk. The applicants are urged to turn up on time and with their original required documents.

Unlike before, this year the successful candidates shall transport and report themselves to the Kaweweta Basic Military Training school-Kaweweta in Nakaseke district