Army prosecution withdraws charges against six AMISOM soldiers

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT  The Directorate of Army Prosecutions has withdrawn charges against six soldiers accused of selling fuel meant for African Mission in Somalia-AMISOM operations. They are Julius Mbaho, Juma Mukuria, Yusuf Bikino, Isaac Byabagambi, Simon Opio and Godfrey Onduma.

The soldiers who were attached to Battle Group 27 of AMISOM appeared before the Makindye based General Court Martial chaired by Lt.  Gen. Andrew Gutti on Monday afternoon.  The group was airlifted to Uganda from Somalia in May 2019 and was charged with personal interests endangering operational efficiency.

It is alleged that on June 12, 2019 while at Level II Hospital Base Camp in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu the group sold 32 jerrycans of fuel.  The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and were remanded to Makindye Military Police Barracks where they have spent more than a year.

On Monday, the Army Prosecutor Captain, Ambrose Baguma tendered a letter in court withdrawing the charges against the entire group without stating any reasons.  The August 15th, 2020 letter was addressed to the General Court Martial Chairperson and signed by the Director of Army Prosecutions Lt. Col. Raphael Mugisha.

As a result, the seven-member panel led by General Gutti endorsed the withdrawal of the charges and set the soldiers free. Jokingly, Gutti asked the soldiers if they had understood what he read in English since they had told him that they only understand Kiswahili.

The soldiers sent the entire court in laughter when they replied in English saying that they had understood what the chairperson had read for them. Gutti ordered them to return to their units since they looked confused on where to go after leaving court.

********

URN