In short
The veterans under their Association Kabale Veterans Association say that they will not Respond to the recent call by the Ugandan government to report at the nearest Divisions for fresh recruitment saying that their money which they worked for in the early days but have instead always lived on empty promises.
Kabale army veterans have expressed little interest in the current recruitment drive to beef up the number of Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) serving in the Amisom (African Union Mission in Somalia).
The veterans under their association Kabale Veterans Association say that they will not respond to the recent call by the Ugandan government to report to the nearest divisions for fresh recruitment. They claim that they have never been paid for services rendered to the country earlier. They therefore see no reason why it will be different this time round.
So far only 10 out of the 50 veterans that Kabale district was supposed to contribute to the reserve force have registered at the UPDF 2nd division in Mbarara.
Caleb Turyamutunga, the Kabale district Veterans association chairperson, says that all veterans wasted their time registering and opening bank accounts in 2010 as requested by the army. The veterans were supposed to receive ex-service claimants money. Turyamutunga claims that no money was ever wired to their accounts although more than 2.5 billion shillings was released.
Turyamutunga says that the veterans see no reason why they should participate in the recruitment while they are unsure they will be paid for their service.
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Turyamutunga is unhappy although he served 8 years in the army, he received no money for his service. Turyamutunga served in the National Resistance Army from 1985 up to 1993. When he tried to claim ex-servicemen money, he was shocked to learn that those who had served for less than 9 years were not entitled to gratuity.
//Cue in: I was shocked to…
Cue out:...give you anything:”//
Recruitment guidelines require the veteran seeking to join AMISOM be 47 years of age and below, physically fit and ready to undergo a three months refresher course before being deployed in Somalia.
45 year-old Adonia Museketa, an ex-serviceman for the National Resistance Army, says that they turned down the request by the government to go and serve in the AMISOM peace keeping mission as there is no assurance that their gratuity and the money that they will work for will be paid.
Our reporter was unable to get a comment from Uganda Peoples Defense forces as the officials at the Second Division in Mbarara could not be reached.
The veterans under their association Kabale Veterans Association say that they will not respond to the recent call by the Ugandan government to report to the nearest divisions for fresh recruitment. They claim that they have never been paid for services rendered to the country earlier. They therefore see no reason why it will be different this time round.
So far only 10 out of the 50 veterans that Kabale district was supposed to contribute to the reserve force have registered at the UPDF 2nd division in Mbarara.
Caleb Turyamutunga, the Kabale district Veterans association chairperson, says that all veterans wasted their time registering and opening bank accounts in 2010 as requested by the army. The veterans were supposed to receive ex-service claimants money. Turyamutunga claims that no money was ever wired to their accounts although more than 2.5 billion shillings was released.
Turyamutunga says that the veterans see no reason why they should participate in the recruitment while they are unsure they will be paid for their service.
//Cue in: Communication from colonel…
Cue out:... these ex-service men:”//
Turyamutunga is unhappy although he served 8 years in the army, he received no money for his service. Turyamutunga served in the National Resistance Army from 1985 up to 1993. When he tried to claim ex-servicemen money, he was shocked to learn that those who had served for less than 9 years were not entitled to gratuity.
//Cue in: I was shocked to…
Cue out:...give you anything:”//
Recruitment guidelines require the veteran seeking to join AMISOM be 47 years of age and below, physically fit and ready to undergo a three months refresher course before being deployed in Somalia.
45 year-old Adonia Museketa, an ex-serviceman for the National Resistance Army, says that they turned down the request by the government to go and serve in the AMISOM peace keeping mission as there is no assurance that their gratuity and the money that they will work for will be paid.
Our reporter was unable to get a comment from Uganda Peoples Defense forces as the officials at the Second Division in Mbarara could not be reached.
