Lawyers protest UPDF execution

By Felix Osike UGANDAN lawyers yesterday condemned the summary execution of two UPDF soldiers over the murder of an Irish priest and two other men in Kotido.They described the killings as a “mockery of justice and a sham.”The Uganda Law Society, in a statement, said the trial of the two soldiers was very unfair and was carried out in the most irregular and unconstitutional manner. They join other local and international organisations who have also interpreted the hasty executions as a “mere” cover up.” Corporal James Omedio and private Abdullah Muhammad were executed by firing squad on Monday.A military tribunal found them guilty of killing Father Declan O’Toole, 31, his driver and a cook last Thursday.John Matovu, the president of the Law Society told journalists yesterday that they were perturbed by the “perfunctory and arbitrary manner in which the trial and summary execution were carried out.” He said a judicial commission of inquiry should be set up to investigate the death of Fr. O’Toole. Matovu specifically called for investigations into allegations that the priest could have been killed because “he had compiled a report implicating some UPDF officers in gun trafficking in Karamoja.”He also said defence minister Amama Mbabazi and the army spokesman, Shaban Bantariza, were misleading Ugandans on legal interpretation relating to the trial and the execution of the soldiers.Matovu said the trial did not conform to the cardinal principles of natural justice and that such unabated extra-judicious actions must be halted. “The date of the execution was fixed before the hearing of the case. This defeats the presumption of innocence under Article 28 of the constitution,” read the statement.The lawyers also said impartiality could not have been expected from Col. Sula Semakula, the UPDF 3rd division commander who announced