Is Uganda ready for the 11th (Battalion of) Parliament?
Joachim Buwembo
After the coming February elections, Uganda could as well be able to boast of an extra battalion available as a reserve force for its defence in case its enemies like Al Shabaab launch an attack on us again.
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By definition, a battalion comprises between 300 and 800 soldiers,depending on the country.
In this region, a battalion has about 600 soldiers. After February 2021, about six hundred able bodied men will be selected from a large field of volunteers, to give an entire five years of their life to the service of Mother Uganda.
From the way they will have described their love for their country, they would not hesitate to lay down their lives to defend Uganda if the need arises.
Today, Uganda’s parliament has 457 members but the government feels these are not enough.
Some eighty-two more legislative soldiers are now being added.
These will include new counties, new cities and other special representations like elders. Before the additions that will complete the strength of the Eleventh (Battalion of) Parliament, Uganda’s legislative strength stands as follows:
296 - constituency representatives
124 - women district representatives
10 -military representatives
5 -youth representatives
5 -disability representatives
5 -workers representatives
12 -ex-officio members
457 – sub total
82 - newest seats
539-new total Most members of the over five hundred strong battalion have already had basic military training during the chaka mchaka political education.
There also several battle-hardened generals to make this elite battalion boast of the highest concentration of generals in one battalion in the world.
Besides the retired generals, there are ten active senior military officers that represent the UPDF.
And then on top of all these senior military guys, the president can add over ten ex-officio members to the battalion by appointing them as ministers.
Uganda Bt11 (Parliament) could therefore be one of the toughest fighting outfits on the planet.