Hundreds answer UPDF call in Lira, but few are women
The team started with Lira city and Lira district, where it targeted 53 of the 129 shortlisted applicants in the city and 52 of the 155 candidates in the district.
The youth turned up in large numbers and, by 7:00 am, the recruitment ground was filled. (Photos by Joseph Ekol)
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Hundreds of young people turned up for the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) recruitment exercise in Lira, with the low number of female applicants raising concern as the army kicked off recruitment in the Lango sub-region.
The exercise got underway on Sunday (August 16) at the Lira City Mayor's Garden, where the recruitment team, together with district and city leaders, briefed shortlisted candidates before screening began.
The team started with Lira city and Lira district, where it targeted 53 of the 129 shortlisted applicants in the city and 52 of the 155 candidates in the district.
The youth turned up in large numbers and, by 7:00 am, the recruitment ground was filled. However, many were turned away, some due to a lack of original academic documents, while others were rejected because of discrepancies in the names on their documents.
Maj. Bilal Katamba, the 4th Division public information officer and spokesperson for Recruitment Team 6, which is conducting the exercise in the Lango and Acholi sub-regions, said a number of candidates turned up without their academic documents, prompting the army to turn them away.
According to the recruitment guidelines, candidates appearing for the physical recruitment exercise are required to present their original academic documents, identification cards and handwritten application forms.
Although only a few women were shortlisted for Lira district and Lira city, all of them turned up for the recruitment exercise, according to Maj Katamba.
Lira resident district commissioner Lillian Eyal said about 97 percent of the shortlisted applicants had turned up for the exercise.
Eyal said many candidates who had been turned away had dental problems, with some having missing teeth. She commended the recruitment team for ensuring transparency in the exercise, with no influence peddling, bribery or nepotism.
She, however, expressed concern about the low number of women participating in the exercise.