Kampala, Uganda | URN | Vice President Rtd Major Jessica Alupo has presided over the passing out of 1,238 recruit warders on Saturday.
They completed a nine-month basic recruit warders and wardresses course at the Prison Academy and Training School. Of these, 912 are male, and 326 are female.
It is expected that the new warders will address staffing shortages and support the Uganda Prisons Service’s mission of safeguarding and developing society by providing safe, secure, and compassionate detention of detainees.
The vice president praised the recruits for stepping up to serve their country while they were still young and enthusiastic. She represented President Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
“I welcome you to a noble and respectable service that is anchored on discipline, professionalism, and patriotic service to your country,” Alupo stated.
As members of Uganda’s security forces, she reminded them of their responsibility to provide peace, stability, and socioeconomic reform throughout the country.
Alupo exhorted the Warders and Wardresses to live a healthy lifestyle by avoiding alcohol and promiscuity.
“If you know that you are a patriot and that your family and your country depend on you, you cannot handle your life recklessly,” she said.
She further urged the new warders and wardresses not to be lazy at work. “You should do sports and exercises to be fit and lead a disciplined life. If you do not do the above, you may get into complications,” she warned.
Alupo warned that if they lived reckless lifestyles, the prison officers risked getting STDs, including HIV/AIDS, from promiscuity.
“You may be unfit and sickly because you lack exercise. All this will undermine your ability to make a contribution to your country or sacrifice for it, if necessary,” she said. She reminded the officers that they need their bodies, mind, and spirit to be in top condition so as to be ready to contribute to their country, to East Africa, and to Africa.
She said between 1962 and 1986, it was not possible to build a strong army and state because of sectarianism, adding that this resulted in a total breakdown of peace and security across the country.
However, Alupo noted that the NRM reversed this terrible situation by mobilizing the people of Uganda, for the first time, around their well-articulated interests.
Internal Affairs Minister Gen. Kahinda Otafire told the gathering that this pass-out reflects the Uganda Prison Service’s continued commitment to human resource development, aimed at building a skilled, disciplined, and professional workforce to support the fulfilment of its mandate and strategic objectives.
Dr. Johnson Byabashaija, the Commissioner General, stated that the recruits received systematic training to encourage professionalism, integrity, discipline, and respect for human rights.
This, he explained, is meant to strengthen service delivery and increase the Service’s capacity to provide safe, secure, and compassionate incarceration, rehabilitation, and reintegration of criminals.
Acting Commandant of the Prisons Academy and Training School, Mary Centenary, stated that UPS recognizes that human capital is the most tangible asset to build and hence continues to invest in training.
As a result, with this number distributed, the service will be able to carry out its duty more effectively.
