Lt Col Charged Over Sh462m Loss

LT. Col. Fearless Obwoya and three other senior army officers of the Karamoja Anti stock Theft Unit (ASTU) were yesterday charged with abuse of office and embezzling sh462m from the army, reports Solomon Muyita. Obwoya, the ASTU commander, Capt. John Logiel, the adjutant, Capt. Lusian Bakulu, an intelligence officer and Lt. Ronnie Lwanga, appeared before the Army General Court Martial chaired by Lt. Col. Joram Kakari and were remanded in the Makindye Military Police Barracks till August 6. The case at the army court that sat at its headquarters in Makindye, attracted the former Regional Director of UNICEF, Mr. David Pulkol, and a number of senior army officers. State Prosecutor Capt. Moses Wandera, told the court that the four officers and others still at large, embezzled the money from the unit between February 2000 and March 2001 while in the Karamoja districts of Kotido and Moroto. Wandera said the officers stole a total of sh462,320,000 meant to pay Karamoja ASTU vigilantes of the UPDF. He also said the officers diverted the money to their personal use by virtue of their employment. Wandera said investigations were still incomplete. But the court’s defence counsel, Capt. Wilson Mwesigwa, who stepped in for their lawyer, Abdul Katuntu, objected to Wandera’s request for two weeks adjournment. He applied for a one-week adjournment to make a bail application, saying his clients could not stand the jail conditions. Kakari adjourned the case until Monday. Ends