Brig. Ondoga faults Judge's advocate for altering evidence

By Michael Odeng

Two senior UPDF officers - Brig. Michael Ondoga and Lt.COL. Sam Kirya have complained to court, saying that the Judge's legal advisor altered the evidence on record.

he accused persons told the General Court Martial chaired by Maj. Gen. Levi Karuhanga that Lt. Col. Gideon Katinda cited evidence that was leading to a conviction.

They say that the legal advisor deliberately skipped certain issues on record to misrepresent the case.

Katinda was Wednesday summing up of the case in which the accused persons are facing charges of failure to execute one's duties for the panel relying on defence lawyers' submissions of no case to answer and prosecutions' rejoinder on final submissions, awaiting judgment.

Meanwhile, the court set May 21 as the date it will pronounce judgment on the case.

The former commander of the Ugandan peacekeeping contingent in Somalia, Ondoga blamed Katinda for stating that he failed to act upon being informed that there was illegal power connection to civilian premises, mainly Hormuud Telecom Mast.

“The Judge’s advocate did not rely on records of proceedings because their serious omissions in the sum up that contradict the proceedings on record,” Ondoga said.

He said prosecution witness two, Baguma Esau, earlier on did not testify that Kirya discouraged him from effecting any power disconnections from the said premises to avoid inconveniences in case they were authorized.

Katinda was also blamed for saying that Kirya had discouraged prosecution witness two from taking any matter concerning the illegal connection forward. 

Prosecution led by Maj. Kangwamu alleges that the accused persons, while deployed in Somalia under AMISOM as contingent commanders (CONTICO) and military information officer, were informed of illegal power connections to civilian buildings but failed to execute their duties.
           
Prosecution contends that the evidence of Esau indicates that both Ondoga and Kirya were informed of the connections but failed to act.

Prosecution witness three, Maj. James Newman Bua earlier testified that Esau confirmed to him that he made the illegal power connections known to Kirya and Ondoga following power outages.  

It was Buas’ testimony that he tasked the school engineering staff, Cpl Michael Kasana to conduct a survey about the connections and report to him and he confirmed that there was a single and three phase lines.

Meanwhile Frank Kanduho, the lawyer representing the accused persons contended that the power connections were not authorized because nobody complained after it was disconnected.

He said that when a report on the illegal connections at Aljazeera was made to the new CONTICO Brig. Dick Olum, he acted and hence disconnection was a duty of the CONTICO.