Police have warned members of the public against falling prey to conmen using social media and forged documents to defraud job seekers during the ongoing recruitment of polling constables.
The caution follows the arrest of one suspect, identified as Amwine Mike, who allegedly posed as the District Police Commander (DPC) of Kyotera and extorted money from unsuspecting applicants by promising them jobs in the Police.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kituuma Rusoke, while addressing journalists at the Police headquarters in Naguru on Monday, October 27, said the suspect was charging applicants Shs50,000 each, claiming he would secure them positions as election Special Police Constables (SPCs).
‘To qualify as a polling constable, applicants must possess a valid National Identity card and a recommendation from their local council chairperson confirming their residency in the area where they will be deployed,’ ACP Kituuma said.
‘Additionally, candidates must have a clean criminal record, be physically and mentally fit, possess good communication skills, and have at least a Primary Seven education.’
He urged applicants to follow the official recruitment process and warned that anyone found impersonating police officers or extorting money from job seekers will be prosecuted.
The ongoing exercise aims to recruit 100,000 polling constables who will be deployed across the country’s polling stations ahead of the 2026 general elections. Each station will have a minimum of two constables, while stations with large voter populations-especially in Kampala, where some have between 900 and 1,300 registered voters-may have three.
The recruitment will increase the total number of police personnel to over 165,000 during the election period. This is a major scale-up compared to the 2021 elections, when 50,000 polling constables were recruited under the leadership of former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martin Ochola.
During the 2021 polls, each constable earned Shs370,000 per month over a 90-day deployment. However, the deployment was marred by protests after delays in payment, with some constables initially receiving only one month’s salary. Others reportedly refused to return police uniforms, batons, and boots after the elections.
‘Those challenges were resolved by June 2021 when all constables had been paid,’ ACP Kituuma said.
For the 2026 elections, constables will earn a revised monthly wage of Shs460,000, in line with the new public service salary scale. This raises the total wage bill to Shs46 billion per month and Shs138 billion for the full 90-day deployment.
In a related exercise earlier this year, police arrested 53 individuals who attempted to cheat the recruitment of probation police constables. The nationwide exercise attracted 78,000 applicants against a target of 11,500 recruits.
ACP Kituuma advised members of the public to report any suspicious recruitment activity to the nearest police station.