Museveni picks 'sharp shooting' LDUs to become his guards

President Yoweri Museveni greeting Morris Okello. Photos by Eddie Sssejjoba

The biblical saying goes, Many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).

This is exactly what happened at the weekend when President Yoweri Museveni picked to Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel and directed that they are recruited into the elite Special Forces Command (SFC) charged with guarding him.

The two personnel, Morris Okello and Justine Namukirima, had emerged the best-performing individuals in target shooting.

Okello from Gulu and Namukirima from Pallisa were among the 6,376 others who had completed the LDUs training at the Oliver Tambo Leadership Institute, Kaweweta, in Nakaseke district.

In his remarks, the President noted that the government embarked on LDU recruitment as a single sector of the wider security infrastructure to immunize the country against insecurity since some sections of society were using crime to undermine the country's progress. 

He expressed gratitude for the enthusiasm exhibited by the LDUs in joining in the fight against criminality in large numbers, adding that Uganda has a large quality human resource due to the good education system.

 Museveni talks to Justine Namukirima

He added that there were 69 University graduates, 340 diploma holders and over 600 S.6 certificate holders among the LDUs. The Commander-in-Chief welcomed more of such good quality human resources into the Armed Forces, saying they are easier to train and add value to the overall security infrastructure of the country.  

President Museveni urged the graduands to be ready for further training for there career progression. "Continuously develop your skills because the future is bright if you know what to do," he said, adding that preservation of a soldier's health is another lifetime requirement from each individual soldier.