Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has successfully concluded the recruitment of 849 rangers following a one-week recruitment exercise countrywide.

The exercise started on July 4th and ended on July 8th, 2022, attracting 10,138 Ugandans who turned up at various recruitment centers in different parts of the country. This number excludes interested Ugandans who turned up late for the exercise and were not allowed to participate on grounds of having failed to manage time.

During the exercise, a total of 849 ranger recruits comprising of 616 men and 233 women from 108 districts were successfully screened and selected through the rigorous recruitment process.

This year’s ranger recruitment 2022 has picked candidates from 79.4% of the Districts of Uganda, which shows a general countrywide representation in the recruitment. This is the first time UWA has attempted to recruit from across the country.

Of the 108 Districts represented, recruits from Districts neighboring wildlife-protected areas are 64.2% while those from other Districts represent 36.9%. Kasese had the highest number of recruits followed by Kanungu, Rubirizi Districts all neighboring Queen Elizabeth National Park

In order to select healthy youth who are physically and mentally fit to undertake military training and perform UWA duties of curbing illegal activities in wildlife-protected areas, applicants were subjected to various health checks and body fitness exercises including running.  This also required that the recruitment of rangers need to go through a similar process as that of UPDF with particular emphasis on medical checks for all recruits by the UPDF Directorate of Medical Services which is a requirement for admission into Kaweweta military training school.

The exercise was undertaken with support from the UPDF who conducted medical examinations on applicants that concluded the run before being taken for training.

The selected individuals are now undergoing training at the UPDF military school Kaweweta after which they will be taken through specialized courses in wildlife management.