At least 183 applicants have so far been shortlisted in the ongoing recruitment of Local Defense Personnel- LDP in Agago, Kitgum and Pader districts in East Acholi Acholi. The nationwide LDU recruitment drive commenced on August 23, 2021.
The drive overseen by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces- UPDF targets applicants of Ugandan nationality between 18-29 years in possession of Uganda Certificate of Examination- UCE or its equivalent. In Kitgum District, 55 applicants out of 639 who applied have been shortlisted while in the neighboring Agago District, 80 out of 540 applicants have been shortlisted.
In Pader District, 48 out of only 70 applicants have been shortlisted in the LDP recruitment. The 5th Infantry Division spokesperson, Maj. Flavia Terimulungi told Uganda Radio Network in an interview on Sunday that the process of shortlisting the applicants was still ongoing.
Maj. Terimulungi notes that network challenges had also affected the transmission of the shortlisted applicants to the respective districts in the region. In East Acholi, by press time, Lamwo District hadn’t yet been availed the shortlist of the applicants.
“Our role was only to receive the application forms and send them to the strategic level where selections are done. At the moment, some of the Resident District Commissioners have got the shortlists while others have not, we expect by end of tomorrow [Monday] most of the districts would have received their shortlists,” said Maj. Terimulungi.
Maj. Terimulungi says the final exercise for the recruitment of the applicants involving interviews, screening and physical fitness tests will be conducted between September 7 up to 10 at the 5th Infantry division headquarters in Acol-pii in Pader District.
Kitgum Resident District Commissioner, William Komakech told URN in an interview that the process has been transparent in the district. UPDF seeks to recruit about 10,000 LDP countrywide in the ongoing recruitment exercise to bolster the country’s security. The recruitment exercise is expected to end by September 16.
-URN
