I survived a firing squad in Kumi
Feb 25, 2007
MEMORIES of how Lieutenant Frank Matovu narrowly survived death are still fresh in his mind. The ugly scars on his stomach caused by the ropes that tied him, are a lasting reminder of how he survived being executed. His eyes are full of sadness and his voice trembles as he tells the story.
By Elvis Basudde
MEMORIES of how Lieutenant Frank Matovu narrowly survived death are still fresh in his mind. The ugly scars on his stomach caused by the ropes that tied him, are a lasting reminder of how he survived being executed. His eyes are full of sadness and his voice trembles as he tells the story.
Twenty years ago, on July 11, 1987, Matovu was sentenced to death by firing squad by the military field court martial.
“I was arrested with my commanding officer, Paddy Tumuhirwe and taken to the army court martial, which was then chaired by Brigadier Ali Chefe (RIP). They charged me for abuse of the military code of conduct in Kumi and the punishment was execution by firing squad.â€
“As a detach commander in Kacumbala, Bukedea district, I was assigned to dislodge rebels who had camped in Kanyum village and the surrounding areas. I delegated my deputy to carry out the operation, with instructions to bring all the rebels arrested to the headquarters in Mukongoro, where I had camped,†Matovu recalls.
He says his deputy went with over 180 soldiers and engaged in a fierce battle with the rebels. They killed domestic animals, burnt houses and raped women. They also recovered many items from the rebels.
“I then made a follow-up with a few soldiers, but on reaching there, I found huts burning, with children inside crying for help. I commanded the soldiers to rescue the children, while I rushed to another hut to help a pregnant woman who was bleeding profusely after being raped,†Matovu says.
A vehicle was organised to take the woman to Mbale Hospital for treatment and Matovu and other soldiers collected some property that had been left behind by the soldiers who carried out the first operation.
“In military operations, we call this ‘charging’ - removing everything you have found with the enemy. We ‘charged’ some items and I took a radio that belonged to the woman I rescued. Unknown to me, the radio belonged to the woman’s brother, a district security officer (DISO) in Mbale,†he says.
While in Mbale Hospital, the woman told her brother that it was the commander of the force that had inflicted pain on her. The DISO, with other soldiers, went to Matovu’s detach, surrounded it and started fighting. They retrieved the radio and other items.
“After the cease fire, the DISO arrested me and took me to Chefe, who handed me over to the chief of personnel and administration, Col. Anthony Kyakabale.
“I was sentenced to death by firing squad in a public place in Kumi, because I had abused the military code of conduct and the radio was proof that I had raped and tortured the woman. All my pleas fell on deaf ears.â€
Since Matovu was a commander, he was allowed to talk to his mother. He told her that his deputy and other soldiers, who carried out the first operation, were the ones who raped the woman.
“My mother rushed to Mbale Hospital and talked to the woman, who gave her the same story as mine. She then narrated the story to Col Kyakabale, who made sure that the woman was present at my execution. They even postponed the day of my execution until the woman was well enough to attend,†Matovu says.
On the fateful day, Matovu was blindfolded and taken to Kumi trading centre for execution. The soldiers tied him with ropes against a tree, before he was unmasked for public viewing.
No sooner had they removed the blindfold than the woman cried out, “Afande Chefe, please set that man free. He saved me and my children.â€
“Chefe immediately ordered the solders to untie me. He later visited me and apologised for all the inconveniences caused to me. He even gave me two bulls to slaughter,†he says.
However, Chefe blamed Matovu for taking the woman’s property and not briefing his superiors about the first operation.
After being freed, Matovu was transferred to Moroto, before heading to Bombo. He applied for retirement, which was granted in 1999, but when he returned home, he found his mother had died.
“Many innocent people are sentenced to death due to lack of evidence. That is why I did not support Saddam Hussein’s execution. Killing is not a punishment.
Matovu says he retired because he was disgusted with the experience. He is now a timber dealer in Kampala.
Matovu, a resident of Kasubi, says he joined the National Resistance Army on February 26, 1982 at Kikubanimba in Luweero district. When President Yoweri Museveni came to power, he was appointed a platoon commander, before proceeding to Moroto, Kitgum and Sudan.
When he returned in 1987, he was made a detach commander in Kacumbala.
He was married to a fellow soldier but she was killed at the battle front in 1998, leaving him with one child.
MEMORIES of how Lieutenant Frank Matovu narrowly survived death are still fresh in his mind. The ugly scars on his stomach caused by the ropes that tied him, are a lasting reminder of how he survived being executed. His eyes are full of sadness and his voice trembles as he tells the story.
Twenty years ago, on July 11, 1987, Matovu was sentenced to death by firing squad by the military field court martial.
“I was arrested with my commanding officer, Paddy Tumuhirwe and taken to the army court martial, which was then chaired by Brigadier Ali Chefe (RIP). They charged me for abuse of the military code of conduct in Kumi and the punishment was execution by firing squad.â€
“As a detach commander in Kacumbala, Bukedea district, I was assigned to dislodge rebels who had camped in Kanyum village and the surrounding areas. I delegated my deputy to carry out the operation, with instructions to bring all the rebels arrested to the headquarters in Mukongoro, where I had camped,†Matovu recalls.
He says his deputy went with over 180 soldiers and engaged in a fierce battle with the rebels. They killed domestic animals, burnt houses and raped women. They also recovered many items from the rebels.
“I then made a follow-up with a few soldiers, but on reaching there, I found huts burning, with children inside crying for help. I commanded the soldiers to rescue the children, while I rushed to another hut to help a pregnant woman who was bleeding profusely after being raped,†Matovu says.
A vehicle was organised to take the woman to Mbale Hospital for treatment and Matovu and other soldiers collected some property that had been left behind by the soldiers who carried out the first operation.
“In military operations, we call this ‘charging’ - removing everything you have found with the enemy. We ‘charged’ some items and I took a radio that belonged to the woman I rescued. Unknown to me, the radio belonged to the woman’s brother, a district security officer (DISO) in Mbale,†he says.
While in Mbale Hospital, the woman told her brother that it was the commander of the force that had inflicted pain on her. The DISO, with other soldiers, went to Matovu’s detach, surrounded it and started fighting. They retrieved the radio and other items.
“After the cease fire, the DISO arrested me and took me to Chefe, who handed me over to the chief of personnel and administration, Col. Anthony Kyakabale.
“I was sentenced to death by firing squad in a public place in Kumi, because I had abused the military code of conduct and the radio was proof that I had raped and tortured the woman. All my pleas fell on deaf ears.â€
Since Matovu was a commander, he was allowed to talk to his mother. He told her that his deputy and other soldiers, who carried out the first operation, were the ones who raped the woman.
“My mother rushed to Mbale Hospital and talked to the woman, who gave her the same story as mine. She then narrated the story to Col Kyakabale, who made sure that the woman was present at my execution. They even postponed the day of my execution until the woman was well enough to attend,†Matovu says.
On the fateful day, Matovu was blindfolded and taken to Kumi trading centre for execution. The soldiers tied him with ropes against a tree, before he was unmasked for public viewing.
No sooner had they removed the blindfold than the woman cried out, “Afande Chefe, please set that man free. He saved me and my children.â€
“Chefe immediately ordered the solders to untie me. He later visited me and apologised for all the inconveniences caused to me. He even gave me two bulls to slaughter,†he says.
However, Chefe blamed Matovu for taking the woman’s property and not briefing his superiors about the first operation.
After being freed, Matovu was transferred to Moroto, before heading to Bombo. He applied for retirement, which was granted in 1999, but when he returned home, he found his mother had died.
“Many innocent people are sentenced to death due to lack of evidence. That is why I did not support Saddam Hussein’s execution. Killing is not a punishment.
Matovu says he retired because he was disgusted with the experience. He is now a timber dealer in Kampala.
Matovu, a resident of Kasubi, says he joined the National Resistance Army on February 26, 1982 at Kikubanimba in Luweero district. When President Yoweri Museveni came to power, he was appointed a platoon commander, before proceeding to Moroto, Kitgum and Sudan.
When he returned in 1987, he was made a detach commander in Kacumbala.
He was married to a fellow soldier but she was killed at the battle front in 1998, leaving him with one child.