{UAH} State House accused of irregular Police training recruitment

State House accused of irregular Police training recruitment

Written by URN

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Created: 08 September 2016

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726 out the 1226 police cadets scheduled to pass out this weekend were enrolled for training in total disregard of the laid down recruitment procedures, URN has learnt.

In December 2014, Uganda Police advertised 500 vacancies for cadet recruits. On May 25, 2015, the Police human resource management directorate, which was in charge of the training, released a list of 516 successful applicants.
 
The recruits were asked to report to the Police training school Kabalye, Masindi in June 2015 for the mandatory training. However, as the training progressed more recruits were ferried to the training school under unclear circumstances. 
 
The Police Act requires the Police Authority to develop a human resource manual stipulating the mode of recruitment based on the principal of transparency and fairness.

It also requires the force to advertise the vacant positions calling for applicants with the approval of the ministry of Finance. A highly placed source in the Police human resource management directorate says, that more than 300 of the fresh recruits were 'recommended and recruited' by State House.

Police cadets during training in Masindi

"In February 2015, the Police Authority approved the list of people that had passed the recruitment test. However, before it was sent, State House directed that the list had to be reworked," said the source on condition of anonymity.

The names of some of the applicants, who had passed the recruitment test, disappeared from the reworked list. One of the recruits who emerged overall best in her district was shocked to discover her name was missing on the list yet it had people who had failed the tests.

"Luckily I had a high-ranking relative in the Police. I told her my problem and was able to intervene on my behalf. I was called for the training," she said.

While some of the fresh recruits back their presence at the training school on their performance, some are simply relatives and friends of senior government officials. About 80 of the recruits are civilians who have been working for Police on contract basis. They include social media managers, secretaries, forensic assistants and IT specialists among others.
 
Andrew Felix Kaweesi, the director human resource development who is also the police spokesperson, says the 726 recruits were enrolled for training basing on the manpower needs in the force.

"Well, it depends on our institutional needs, we interview over 10,000 applicants. So when the police needs go higher and we have the money to pay them then we go back to the interviewing lists and we say so and so appeared to do interviews and initially if we had taken 500, then we go to those who are next in performance during the interviews and we take them on. There are those we call on the waiting list. If we have additional demand we go for those on the waiting list, so that is what happened", Kaweesi said.

In December 2014, ministry of Finance approved recruitment of 500 cadets and 3,000 constables and remitted their salaries with effect from July 1, 2015. It is unclear where Police got the salaries of the additional cadet recruits.

Police trainees start receiving their salaries from the very first day of their training, despite the fact the president signs their contracts a year after they have passed out and are confirmed as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).

There are currently more than 6,000 ASPs with less than 3500 command positions requiring officers at that rank

Gwokto La'Kitgum

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