Two issues here:
1. A time to do away with capital punishment in Uganda has long since passed; we have to struggle to change this law.
2. With extreme ease and callousness the junta in Uganda is killing this Mr. Pimundu. The flimsy charges against him are laughable. May be it is naive of us to expect justice from arch-criminals like Museveni, Salim Saleh, Kazini, and all the goons in there ..............
Mitayo Potosi
From: "Chris Opoka-Okumu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: ugnet_: UPDF Soldier to Face Firing Squad For Cowardice Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 10:38:36 -0400
Netters,
This is serious miscarriage of Justice.
"THE UPDF field court martial on Friday sentenced a soldier to death by firing squad after he was found guilty of cowardice and failure to execute his duties."
He is said to have committed the offence when he failed to respond to information that LRA had attacked a village and because he did not respopnd to this information, LRA executed 8 civilians. His defence is that his brief was to guard the students and the internally displaced persons at Uganda College of Commerce.
Is right to say the failure to respond constituted cowardice? Is it right to say that failure to respond to a situation outside once immediate duty constitute neglect of duty? What would have happened if Pimundu took his soldiers to this village and the LRA came and butchered the students in Uganda College of Commerce and the IDP camps as they did in Kichwamba precisely because those who were to guard the students were not at their post? Would he not be also accused of neglect of duties?
What happened to those soldiers who abandoned their post at Kichwamba Technical School, were they also executed by firing squad? Why now Pimundu?
Can the death of 8 civilians be the necessary result of Pimundu nor responding or the LRA would have executed them anyway as is their wont?
----- Original Message ----- From: Omar Kezimbira To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2003 4:55 AM Subject: ugnet_: UPDF Soldier to Face Firing Squad For Cowardice
Firing Squad For Coward -New Vision-7/9/2003
THE END: Pimundu is led off to await death
By Nathan Etengu
THE UPDF field court martial on Friday sentenced a soldier to death by firing squad after he was found guilty of cowardice and failure to execute his duties.
Corporal Pimundu Gimaro, attached to the Military Police, committed the offences on August 31 when he failed to respond to information from a civilian that the Lord's Resistance Army rebels had attacked a village near his station.
The nine-member court martial, chaired by the UPDF 3rd Division Commander, Col. Andrew Guti, ruled that Pimundu's omissions led to the death of eight civilians at the hands of the rebels who had attacked Agasi village.
"This court is final. There is no appeal. You have been sentenced to death," Guti announced at around 6:50pm.
Pimundu who had waited outside as the panel deliberated his fate sighed and looked down as colleagues from the Military Police handcuffed him and led him to a waiting pick-up truck.
He was to be execut ed yesterday morning after President Yoweri Museveni, the commander-in-chief of the army, was briefed on the court decision.
Each of the two counts on which Pimundu was charged carried a maximum punishment of death.
A prosecution witness told court how he struggled to reach the UPDF unit after the rebels had abducted him. He said Pimundu ignored his report.
Pimundu, in his defence, said that his brief was to guard the students and the internally displaced persons at Uganda College of Commerce.
Ends
Published on: Sunday, 7th September, 2003
Email this article to a friend.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software
_________________________________________________________________
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
-------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
