Some of the Opit soldiers before the military court martial in Gulu. They were cleared of the cowardice charge against them(Photo by Claude Omona)
Nine soldiers slapped with a cowardice charge for their failure to thwart an attack on Opit army detach in May this year have been cleared of the charge by a military court sitting at the 4th Division barracks in Gulu.
Unknown gunmen raided Opit detach in the early hours of May 16 and killed two people before fleeing with eight guns and some military uniforms.
Five soldiers and their commander were arrested after the attack for their failure to protect the military installation, and to protect weapons of war.
After seven months on remand in Gulu central prison, the soldiers were arraigned before military court martial on Friday last week.
Musa Jjuuko, a prosecutor asked the court to punish the soldiers for cowardice which he argued lead to the death of two people; a soldier named Alfonse Ojara and Haggai Okullu, a five year old.
But Echoda Blasio, the defence counsel told court the soldiers were powerless to repulse the attackers and secure the installation since they did not have their weapons at the time of the attack.
The Chairman of the court martial, Col. Olanya Ojara acquitted the soldiers saying they were helpless without their weapons.
Lt. Hassan Kato, the UPDF 4th Division Public relation told Acholi Times after the court ruling that the soldiers were off duty and disarmed at the time of the attack adding that it is ‘‘standard procedure’’ for soldiers to be disarmed when they are off duty.
Several suspects were arrested in connection with the attack on the Opit military detach including a Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) leader Dan Oola Odiya who is currenty facing charges of treason and murder among others.
The army says all the weapons that had been raided from Opit army detach, 30 kms east of Gulu town had been recovered.
