UPDF soldiers facing court martial in Mogadishu for misconduct
Uganda Peoples Defence Forces Divisional Court Martial has on August 2, 2016 court martialled soldiers accused of misconduct in Mogadishu. PHOTO | COURTESY
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Six soldiers in full uniform were paraded but the statement did not clarify on the kind of accusations the military men faced.
The Ugandan military on Tuesday began trials for soldiers accused of misconduct while serving in the African Union Mission in Somalia.
A statement from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) Divisional Court Martial said the soldiers were being tried in Mogadishu where the alleged crimes were committed.
“The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces today [Tuesday] convened in Mogadishu, to try soldiers alleged to have engaged in various forms of misconduct,” the statement said.
Six soldiers in full uniform were paraded but the statement did not clarify on the kind of accusations the military men faced.
In June, five soldiers from Uganda, Burundi and ten other people were arrested in Mogadishu for allegedly selling equipment belonging to Amisom on the black market.
UPDF Spokesman, Lt-Col Paddy Ankunda, said at the time that they were working with Somali authorities to investigate the matter.
Uganda is the largest troop contributor to Amisom, sending 6,223 soldiers to the 22,000 strong mission meant to battle Somali militants Al-Shabaab and protect the nascent government in Mogadishu.
But the UPDF which were the first contingent in Somalia when Amisom was created in 2007 have in the past faced accusations of misconduct.
In September 2014, a global rights lobby, Human Rights Watch, published a damning report saying Amisom troops in Mogadishu had “raped women and traded food aid for sex” in 2013.
