Man arrested over alleged Shs 20,000 bribe attempt during UPDF recruitment

A 20-year-old man has been arrested in Masindi district for allegedly attempting to bribe Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officers during the ongoing recruitment exercise.

Emmanuel Kyakabaale Tayebwa, a resident of Kimengo sub-county, was arrested on Tuesday at the Masindi district headquarters, where the UPDF recruitment team was conducting screening.

According to the recruitment team, Kyakabaale was initially disqualified after failing to produce his Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) certificate. He had presented a primary seven certificate and a senior four pass slip.

He later showed the verification team a scanned copy of an ordinary level certificate on his mobile phone. However, officers reportedly detected discrepancies between the names on his academic documents and those on his national identity card.

His national ID reportedly bears the name Emmanuel Kyakaale Tatwebwa, while his academic documents carry the name Kyakabaale Emmanuel.

Brig Rogers Kitwala, deputy commandant of the Field Artillery Division in Masindi and head of the recruitment team, said Kyakabaale allegedly offered Shs 20,000 to four officers who were verifying applicants’ documents.

Kitwala said the applicant claimed the money was meant to buy water for the officers. The recruitment team arrested Kyakabaale and handed him over to Masindi Central Police Station for further investigations.

Kitwala warned applicants against presenting forged, altered or questionable documents, saying those found doing so would be arrested and prosecuted.

The arrest came as the recruitment team screened hundreds of applicants in Masindi, with dozens discontinued over documentation, identification and medical concerns.

In Masindi, 120 professional candidates and 89 regular candidates had initially been shortlisted. However, only 55 professional and 76 regular candidates turned up for the exercise.

Of the 55 professional candidates who appeared, 22 were discontinued, mainly for failing to present original academic certificates or because of discrepancies between their names and identification documents.

Another 31 of the 76 regular candidates were discontinued for various reasons, including suspected forgery. More than 40 applicants were therefore eliminated during the exercise, with medical grounds also cited among the reasons for disqualification.

The UPDF plans to recruit 23 professional and 50 regular officers from Masindi district. The exercise is being conducted across the Bunyoro sub-region, covering Masindi, Hoima, Kiryandongo, Buliisa, Kibaale, Kagadi, Kakumiro and Kikuube districts.

According to the UPDF, 599 people are expected to be recruited from the eight districts.

The recruitment team has urged applicants to present genuine academic and identification documents, warning that attempts to influence officers through bribery or other means will attract criminal action.

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