Police will recruit 50,000 special police constables (SPCs) for the 2021 General Election.
An additional 5,000 SPCs will join the regular police force. This will take the current police strength, which stands at about 44,000, to about 100,000 personnel. Mr Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, yesterday said the constables will support the Force in keeping law and order, and will be disbanded after the elections.
“We have plans of recruiting election special police constables for effective policing of the election period and post-election period,” Mr Enanga said.
“They shall only work for the election period only and they will be paid an allowance of Shs375,200 per person,” he added.
Mr Enaga said the force, which will be recruited from across the country, will be deployed a month before the election until the period is over.
“They will be recruited from different regions and will work in their respective districts. Police will not take them to a training school like Kabalye. The requirement is that you must be a Ugandan, possess a national Identity card, have no criminal record, be aged between 18 to 40 and proven record of volunteering with police,” Mr Enanga said.
He also said police have instructed the division/district police commanders, regional police commanders and liaison officers to liaise with district officials to mobilise and identify suitable candidates for recruitment.
The Electoral Commission expects that districts will grow to 141 by 2021, up from 121 in 2016, while the municipalities will increase from 39 to 80, sub-counties from 1,398 to 2,000 and parishes from 7,431 to 9,500.
Villages will also increase from 57,842 to 65,200 and polling stations are expected to rise to 35,000 from 28,010 as of 2016.
Police authorities say they need manpower to provide security in all places and ensure stability.
They add that the increase in the polling stations and voters require that police get prepared early to avoid security breaches.
According to the 2015/2016-2019/2020 strategic policing plan, police have a strength of 44,601 personnel instead of the recommended 74,002. Police need Shs14.1b to meet its annual manpower training needs.