Some of the luggage of the youths protesting ill treatment at the main gate of Zeu skilling center on Tuesday
More than 200 youths at the Presidential Skilling Centre in Zeu sub-county in Zombo district are protesting ill-treatment by their Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) instructors. The youths packed their bags on Tuesday and threatened to return to their home districts citing harassment by the instructors.
It took the intervention of Zombo district officials led by the Resident District Commissioner, Lt Col. (Rtd) Pius Alitema who rushed to the skilling center and pleaded with the youths to calm down.
They accused the UPDF instructors of caning them and waking them up very early. The trainees also claimed that some of the instructors deny them food as well as freedom of expression. Phillip Oryem Anwangkani, the manager of the Presidential Skilling Center has however dismissed the allegations describing them as baseless.
Roy Masendi, the Zeu sub-county councilor has blamed the trainees for lack of seriousness, saying they are indifferent to the skills training program.
Francis Bolingo, the Athuma Sub county LC V councilor notes that there is a need to evaluate the deployment of UPDF instructors at the facility when civilians could be used to give the required skills.
The protest comes just two weeks before the pass out of the trainees following their enrolment in August this year. President Yoweri Museveni started the Presidential Initiative on Skilling the youth program in 2017 to help youths, especially school drops out to attain income-generating skills.
-URN
