No open court trial for Brig. Ondoga

By Pascal Kwesiga and Ann Amito

Brig. Michael Ondoga, the former commander of the Uganda troops under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), has lost his bid to have his trial conducted in the open court.

The General Court Martial, chaired by Brig. Moses Ssentongo, Thursday ruled that Ondoga’s entire trial will be conducted behind closed doors to protect the country’s national interests.

The ruling puts to rest arguments by Ondoga’s defence team that had insisted that nothing in the charges their client is facing touches on national security.

Brig. Ssentongo delivered the ruling after the court’s judge advocate, Maj. Raphael Mugisha, said that all the details that have emerged since Ondoga’s trial began have a bearing on national security.

Ondoga faces service offences that the state claims resulted in the loss of lives, military equipment, diversion of fuel, feeding troops on food rations and loss of troop morale. He is also accused of having failed to brief and execute his duties and offences relating to operations.

He is also accused of having failed to issue formal operation orders to the commander Battle Group 10 (Lt. Col. Edson Muhanguzi) for the operation from Afye-Baidoa which resulted in the loss of a battle tank and its crew in October 2012.

It is also alleged Ondoga, who was reportedly aware of the advance operations (Afgoye-Baidoa) and complaints from Muhanguzi about food shortage, failed to address the issues which affected the operation’s efficiency.

It is also alleged that Ondoga and Kirya failed to stop illegal power connection from AMISOM to the civilian premises in the neighbourhood of Al Jazeera Training Centre in Mogadishu.

Muhanguzi who is prosecution’s key witness recently told court that Ondoga penned a confidential letter to the army Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Katumba Wamala, in which he highlighted the anomalies in their operation in Somalia.

Muhanguzi said he attended a secret meeting during which he discussed Ondoga’s offences with Gen. Wamala and Brig. Charles Bakahumura, the Chief of Military Intelligence, before the accused (Ondoga) was charged in court last year.

Muhanguzi was Thursday cross-examined by Ondoga’s defence team in camera for the entire day.