Militia hired for elections
Sep 30, 2005
THE recruitment of 4,000 volunteers from auxiliary forces into the Police Force to bolster the force for the March 2006 elections has started.
By Steven Candia
THE recruitment of 4,000 volunteers from auxiliary forces into the Police Force to bolster the force for the March 2006 elections has started.
The exercise, in four districts in eastern, northern and north-eastern Uganda, kicked off on Monday.
The three militia forces are Arrow Group in Teso, Amuka in Lango and the Kitgum Frontier Guards that sprung up to fight the LRA rebels alongside the UPDF.
The commissioner of Police for human resource management, Chris Opio, yesterday said the duration of the exercise would be determined by the volume of work at the recruitment centres.
“The recruitment is on for the Police trainees but how long it will take, will depend on the amount of work involved in the respective centres.
“In the end, the teams will submit their recruitment reports,†Opio said.
The Police trainees, Opio said, will first be trained on how to secure the elections, given that the duration between now and the elections is short.
After the elections, they will undergo proper Police training.
“They are being recruited primarily for the elections but will subsequently be taken on to serve in the force as Police officers because there is need for us to increase the physical strength of the Force,†he added.
The drive becomes the single biggest recruitment into the Police Force in recent times and will significantly bolster the force, whose number stands at about 14,000.
Four teams of senior Police officers from the Police headquarters were dispatched at the weekend to the districts where they are carrying out a joint recruitment exercise with army divisional headquarters of the third, fourth and fifth divisions, he said.
“It’s a joint exercise with the army because these auxiliary forces have been working together with the army and it’s the army in those areas who know who has been serving in those forces,†Opio said.
Earlier this year, internal affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda told Parliament that 4,000 volunteers from the auxiliary forces were to be recruited, transformed and absorbed as professional policemen.
Arrow Boys are reputed for ejecting LRA rebels who infiltrated the region about two years ago, after a bloody period.
THE recruitment of 4,000 volunteers from auxiliary forces into the Police Force to bolster the force for the March 2006 elections has started.
The exercise, in four districts in eastern, northern and north-eastern Uganda, kicked off on Monday.
The three militia forces are Arrow Group in Teso, Amuka in Lango and the Kitgum Frontier Guards that sprung up to fight the LRA rebels alongside the UPDF.
The commissioner of Police for human resource management, Chris Opio, yesterday said the duration of the exercise would be determined by the volume of work at the recruitment centres.
“The recruitment is on for the Police trainees but how long it will take, will depend on the amount of work involved in the respective centres.
“In the end, the teams will submit their recruitment reports,†Opio said.
The Police trainees, Opio said, will first be trained on how to secure the elections, given that the duration between now and the elections is short.
After the elections, they will undergo proper Police training.
“They are being recruited primarily for the elections but will subsequently be taken on to serve in the force as Police officers because there is need for us to increase the physical strength of the Force,†he added.
The drive becomes the single biggest recruitment into the Police Force in recent times and will significantly bolster the force, whose number stands at about 14,000.
Four teams of senior Police officers from the Police headquarters were dispatched at the weekend to the districts where they are carrying out a joint recruitment exercise with army divisional headquarters of the third, fourth and fifth divisions, he said.
“It’s a joint exercise with the army because these auxiliary forces have been working together with the army and it’s the army in those areas who know who has been serving in those forces,†Opio said.
Earlier this year, internal affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda told Parliament that 4,000 volunteers from the auxiliary forces were to be recruited, transformed and absorbed as professional policemen.
Arrow Boys are reputed for ejecting LRA rebels who infiltrated the region about two years ago, after a bloody period.