Officers Face Court Martials
By VINCENT MAYANJA
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT THE PURGE of the military by President Yoweri Museveni takes a new turn this week, with some senior Uganda People's Defence Forces officers expected to appear before a court martial to defend themselves.
According to military sources, the charge sheets for some of the affected officers are ready and they will appear before the court martial as early as this week.
"The charge sheet of Maj Gen James Kazini, for example, is ready and he is expected to defend himself before the court," a senior member of the army who preferred anonymity told The EastAfrican last week. Maj-Gen Kazini is the former army commander, who was dropped recently and sent for further studies in Nigeria.
Maj-Gen Kazini returned to Uganda just over a week ago, but it was not clear whether he had been summoned by the army or was home for the festive season. The UPDF indicated that it would recall him from his studies to face the court martial.
Relatives of some of the affected officers said that some of them were under house arrest, but the particular charges against them had not been spelt out. However, army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said he had no information about any officers under house arrest, promising to cross-check and establish the truth.
On December 1, in a show of authority signalling a tough stance against corruption in the army, President Yoweri Museveni announced a major shake-up in the army, mainly over the its nominal roll, which had been inflated by some officers in what is known in Uganda as the "ghost soldiers scam."
Officers were reported to have inflated the list of soldiers in their units, pocketing the extra salaries and supplies.�
The officers who were recalled from their units during the purge and were recommended for court martial include Kazini, who was undertaking a course at a war college in Nigeria; Brigadier Nakibus Lakara, former Chief of Staff; Brigadier Henry Tumukunde, the former director general of the Internal Security Organisation; Brigadier Steven Kashaka, previously chief of personnel and administration; Colonel Potel Kivuna, former commander of the western-based second division; and Colonel Mark Kodil, former chief of personnel and administration.
Brigadier Lakara's deputy, Colonel Fred Tolit, was supposed to be sent on a course outside the country.
Others to face court martial are Colonel Andrew Gutti, who headed the third infantry division based in the east of the country, and Lieutenant Colonel Dura Mawa, who commanded the Alpine Brigade responsible for areas bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo.
According to sources, hundreds of other junior officers, including paymasters of units, were also suspended and will face a court martial. Some of the officers will answer charges of subversion, but it is not known what subversive acts they are supposed to have been involved in.
The military has been involved in a number of questionable dealings over the years, especially in logistics procurement, with suppliers delivering goods in disregard of tender requirements. One of the cases involved the purchase of four attack helicopters for the army that were no longer airworthy at the time of delivery, in spite the fact that the tender required them to be delivered after being overhauled.
Other dubious deals involved the supply of under-sized army uniforms and the purchase of dozens of T-55 Soviet tanks that reports indicated were in poor mechanical condition. The country is reported to have lost huge amounts of money in these deals.
President Museveni's younger brother, Lieutenant General Caleb Akandwanaho a.k.a. Salim Saleh, featured prominently in some of the deals and at one time Museveni revealed that the general admitted to having taken a kickback of $800,000 on the choppers' purchase.
Lt-Gen Saleh has since announced his resignation from parliament, where he represented the army, until investigations are complete over allegations levelled against him.
Comments\Views about this article�
