Ugandan Soldiers survive death sentence

NTV|KAMPALA: Four Ugandan soldiers who killed seven innocent civilians in Somalia have survived the death sentence after the Court Martial Appeal Court overruled the decision by a Court in Mogadishu. The soldiers have instead been sentenced to serve jail sentences of between 15 to 19 years.

These who include Captain Charles Asiimwe, CPL Edison Bwambale, Lance CPL Phillip Ichumar, and Pte Kerere Tushemereirwe, committed the offense on 10th August 2021 when they were deployed to take food supplies to a friendly force at the Beldamin post in Somalia. On their way, they detected an improvised explosive device in the middle of the road.

Seven civilians were arrested after the incident and under the orders of Captain Charles Asiimwe they were shot dead and thereafter, their bodies were blown up with the explosive devices.

While sentencing them a panel of four members of the Court Martial Appeal Court led by Justice Elly Turyamubona set aside the death sentence based on the circumstances under which the offense was committed considering the highly risky areas of operation they were working in.

The Court observed the environment in which the offense was committed and concluded that mistakes of operational nature could and are likely to occur there.

It is against this background that the court found the sentence of 19years and 3months for Captain Asiimwe and Cpl Bwambale appropriate. A sentence of 15 years and 9 months was given to LCpl Ichumar and Pte Tushemereirwe is appropriate given the time they have spent in prison.

Meanwhile, the Court has set free CPL Babu Alexander for lack of evidence.