LDU recruit dies during drills in Masindi

A 29-year-old man died on Friday afternoon during the Local Defense Unit (LDU) recruitment exercise in Masindi.

The deceased identified as, Stewart Abitegeka, a resident of Kisanja village in Labbongo sub county in Masindi district was among hundreds of youths who turned up for the recruitment exercise at Masindi field artillery division Barracks.

Brigadier Gen. Frank Kyambadde, who is in charge of Team 3 that is conducting the recruitment exercise in the Bunyoro sub region, told Uganda Radio Network in an interview that the deceased collapsed during the physical exercise and was later pronounced dead.

Kyambadde added that the deceased collapsed after completing a two-kilometer road run which was one of the physical interviews the applicants were supposed to undergo.

He said the process of conducting a medical examination on the deceased is underway to ascertain if he had any underlying health conditions adding that the body is currently lying at the military hospital at the Masindi Field Artillery Division Headquarters.

Kyambadde  further explains that the family of the deceased has already been notified about his sudden death.

During the recruitment exercise, candidates are required to undergo a physical test of a 5km run before they are taken into other phases of the exercise.

Brig Kyambade however explains that they managed to recruit 520 out of the 641 slots that were allocated to the districts in Bunyoro sub region and Nakasongola district respectively.

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) last month announced the recruitment of another batch of 10,000 Local Defence Unit (LDU) personnel countrywide.

The applicants must be Ugandan citizens aged 18 to 29, medically, physically fit and must hold UCE or artisan certificate with good conduct and no criminal record.

There are more than 25,000 LDU recruits countrywide, most of whom were recruited in 2018 following a wave of crime in various parts of the country including the killing of some high-profile personalities.