A Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) soldier was given a 40-year prison term for the murder of a civilian on Christmas Day at Bondo Military Barracks in the Arua area by the Fourth Division Military Court Martial.
Philliam Shida, 23, was shot on December 25, 2022, in Etori Village, Arivu sub-county in Arua district.
On Monday, a court presided over by Col. George Nambafu, chairman of the fourth Division Military Court, sentenced RA185000 corporal Franco Okwi, attached to the 57 Battalion under 409 Brigade, based on his own admission of guilt.
The deceased was shot with an SMG gun with the registration number UGUPDF49003009, which struck the deceased at the end of his right buttocks, according to testimony given in court.
On December 25, 2022, Corporal Okwi, age 40, who was on guard duty at the small gate of Bondo military barracks, saw the deceased approaching him. Afterwards, the prisoner informed the unit’s legal officer that he had slain a person.
Col. George Nambafu, who presided over the fourth Division Military Court martial, read the ruling aloud. He stated that there was no excuse for the convicted soldier to shoot an unarmed citizen he was legally required to protect.
He said that the defendant has 14 days to file an appeal against the court’s ruling.
The deceased died from significant haemorrhage/bleeding caused by gunshot wounds to the lower buttocks, according to the postmortem report that was laid before the court.
Lt. Col. David Bamutazi, the political commissar of the fourth Division Military Court martial, addressed court users prior to the case’s hearing and explained that they chose to hold the court in Bondo in order to hold local residents accountable. He adds that the UPDF as an organization cannot support the violation of civil rights.
The Arua Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Geoffrey Okiswa, hailed the decision at the same time as emphasizing that the regrettable incident had put the district’s coexistence of the army and people in danger.
Aisha Muhammad, one of the Bondo Trade Center tenants where the incident occurred, has urged the UPDF leadership to maintain control over unruly officers because this is not the first time that a shooting of this nature has occurred at Bondo Military Barracks.
By the time the story was filled, the offender reportedly had been sent to the major government jails in Arua City.
