The Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Hon. Kiryowa Kiwanuka, has defended the ongoing 2026 Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) recruitment exercise, saying the process is based on nationality and residence rather than tribe or religion.
Minister Kiryowa made the remarks while responding to concerns raised by Members of Parliament during the 19th sitting of the first meeting of the first session of the 12th Parliament, chaired by Speaker Rt. Hon. Jacob Oboth-Oboth.
Several legislators raised concerns over alleged irregularities in the recruitment process, including the registration of candidates from different ethnic backgrounds in regions outside their areas of origin.
One legislator cited a case involving a Munyankore who was reportedly recruited from Mbale District.
In response, Minister Kiryowa clarified that the UPDF does not recruit based on tribe or religion, but considers nationality and residence.
He explained that candidates are recruited from the areas where they register, provided their documents demonstrate that they are residents of those areas.
The minister also responded to concerns raised by a Member of Parliament from Pallisa District regarding a candidate identified as Osire.
According to the legislator, Osire reported for physical recruitment on August 18 but was allegedly instructed by an officer to write a name different from his own. The MP said the candidate was subsequently disqualified and alleged that he was beaten before being ejected from the recruitment centre.
Minister Kiryowa said the ministry would investigate the allegations and establish what transpired.
“Of course, we are going to investigate the matter and establish what happened,” he said.
The minister, however, urged Members of Parliament to sensitise people in their constituencies about the importance of integrity and discipline in matters concerning national security and the UPDF.
He questioned why a candidate would agree to write a name other than his own during the recruitment process.
“However, we don’t think that Osire would be a desirable member of our fraternity if he can write a wrong name. We cannot understand how someone can simply write a wrong name for himself,” Minister Kiryowa said.
He explained that academic documents are required during recruitment to verify candidates’ identities and qualifications and prevent such discrepancies.
The minister added that if the instruction to use a different name was intended as a test by the officer conducting the recruitment, it would have been inappropriate.
“If it were a test at that centre, I hope it wasn’t, because I may come back and report that they tested everyone and they found that this one failed the test,” Minister Kiryowa said.
However, a Member of Parliament from Kasanda argued that military personnel are expected to obey orders from their superiors and, therefore, the candidate should not have been excluded if he was merely following an instruction from the recruitment officer.
Maj Gen David Gonyi, Commandant of the Senior Command and Staff College, Kimaka, and UPDF Whip in Parliament, disagreed with the argument.
He explained that the candidate could not be considered to have been acting under military orders because he had not yet been recruited into the UPDF.
“First of all, the gentleman was not a soldier yet, and in interviews they will never tell you what they will ask you. If they ask you to call yourself something else and you accept, how do we trust that you will be able to protect everyone else in the country?” Maj Gen Gonyi said.
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