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A General Court Martial (GCM) legal team, under the leadership of Brig Gen Robert Freeman Mugabe, is conducting trials in Somalia for UPDF personnel alleged to have committed capital offenses. Two senior officers, Maj. Steven Oluka and Maj. Zadock Obor, are facing charges related to cowardice in action. President Museveni expressed his views on the situation and praised the UPDF’s response to an attack on the Buulo Mareer base. The GCM is in Somalia to handle cases involving the UPDF Act, and the trials will last for two weeks.

Under the Chairmanship of Brig Gen Robert Freeman Mugabe, the GCM legal team of 20 people has for the last week camped at Sector One Contingent headquarters trying UPDF personnel alleged to have committed capital offences. The Kampala group includes clerks, secretaries, prosecutors, and defense counsels.

Two senior officers, ranking major, are facing two counts of cowardice in action, which is against section 120 (1) (2) (a) of the UPDF Act 2005, and offenses by persons in command when in action, which is against section 128 (1) (b) of the UPDF Act of 2005. This is the first case before the GCM this week.

Maj. Steven Oluka and Maj. Zadock Obor are accused of failing to inspire officers and militants under their command to fight bravely when they encountered Alshabaab on May 25–27, 2023, while serving as Officer Commanding companies in Bulomarer and Golweyne.

Brig Gen Mugabe made a few brief words during the beginning of court on Tuesday, stating that because most of the witnesses in the cases were in the mission area, they chose to sit at Basecamp-Mogadishu to access them.

Brig Gen. Mugabe stated, “Secondly, the General Court Martial has jurisdiction to try cases anywhere in and outside of Uganda where UPDF is operating.”

He continued by saying that any country that contributes troops is required to test its people while they are in the mission area by the Memorandum of Understanding and the Status of Forces Agreement with the host nation, Somalia. As such, the UPDF General Court Martial hears cases involving crimes committed by UPDF members.

For a duration of two weeks, the GCM will be in Somalia to hear cases pertaining to the UPDF Act’s section 122 (1) (2) (h) and the failure of four non-commissioned officers to protect war supplies centrally.

Prior to the attack on the Buulo Mareer Forward Operating Base of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), two military men, Maj. Steven Oluka and Maj. Zadock Obor, made their initial court appearances in Makindye last month.

Fourteen UPDF soldiers, including base commander Lt Col Edward Nyororo, lost their lives in the attack two days after it occurred, according to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who also serves as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

“Although unfortunate, this incident serves as a lesson to all. The mistake was made by two commanders, Maj. Oluka and Maj. Obbo, who ordered the soldiers to retreat. They have been apprehended and will face charges in the Court Martial,” President Museveni explained on Saturday, June 3, during the 10-day NRM parliamentary caucus retreat at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi.

Museveni also noted that the terrorists attempted to follow up the Buulo Mareer attack with another on Baraawe Town but were repelled by the UPDF, resulting in their retreat. “They made an ill-fated attempt on Baraawe, but our forces dealt a significant blow, forcing them to flee,” he mentioned.

The President told the NRM legislators that the UPDF managed to recapture the Buulo Mareer base successfully. “Our soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience and reorganized themselves, resulting in the recapture of the base by Tuesday,” he added.