One person dies during UPDF recruitment exercise

ARUA- A man who Friday turned up to join the UPDF at Arua Police ground collapsed and died during a road run exercise.

 According to Maj Ceaser Olwenyi, the 4^th Division Public Information Officer, Michael Saidia from Ofaka in Madi Okollo District, collapsed and died after a group of candidates had been flagged off for a road run.

"The road run was one of the examinations for recruitment but we told the candidates that the exercise was not a competition and they should not run to die,” he said. “We gave  clear instructions about that and we flagged off the candidates for a two and half kilometre run  but the deceased who was found epileptic collapsed and died some minutes later."

He said: "After the collapsing, our doctors tried to rescue him by putting him on a drip. We thought he was going to be okay within no minute as we were looking for ways of getting an ambulance. Within a short period, he passed on which is very unfortunate."

The nationwide army recruitment exercise runs until January 5, 2020 before successful candidates start training in different military training schools around the country.