KAMPALA, Uganda – The Ugandan army on Thursday mentioned a court docket martial quickly sitting in Mogadishu, Somalia, has begun the trial of two of its senior military officers accused of “cowardice” following the lethal assault on peacekeepers by the militant group Al Shabaab in Somalia in Might.
The Common Court docket Martial (GCM) chaired by Brig Gen Robert Mugabe is attempting Maj Steven Oluka and Maj Zadock Obor, commanding officers of two army bases in southwest Somalia over two counts of cowardice after an Al Shabaab assault that left 54 peacekeepers killed, mentioned the army in a press release issued in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
The assertion mentioned the 2 senior commanders didn’t encourage army officers and troopers beneath their command to struggle courageously upon encountering Al Shabaab on Might 26.
One other 4 non-commissioned officers are additionally beneath trial over failure to guard battle supplies, opposite to the Uganda Folks’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Act, mentioned the assertion.
The Common Court docket Martial that’s historically performed at Makindye within the capital Kampala can be holding periods in Somalia for 2 weeks.
“The Common Court docket Martial has jurisdiction to attempt circumstances anyplace in and outdoors Uganda the place UPDF is working,” the assertion quoted Mugabe as saying. “On the finish of the periods, those that can be discovered responsible can be given applicable sentences and people discovered not responsible can be acquitted.”
The troopers had been killed after Al Shabaab, a militant group, overran a army base manned by a Ugandan contingent of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) at Bulo Marer city, about 120 km southwest of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
Along with Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia, Uganda is likely one of the troops-contributing nations to the Atmis battling terrorists in Somalia.
XINHUA
