The Uganda People’s Defense Forces General Court Martial in Makindye has convicted their own, Private Dennis Tumukunde of failure to protect war materials.
Tumukunde was on Tuesday convicted by the Court presided over by Lt. General Andrew Gutti.
Tumukunde was in November 2018, arraigned before the General Court Martial and charged with failure to protect war materials and desertion. But the offense of desertion was later dropped.
According to the prosecution, on May 19 2018 at Bendegele village Katabi Town Council in Wakiso District, Tumukunde was found in illegal possession of a Sub Machine Gun -SMG and ten bullets.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges and the state prosecutors presented five witnesses who told the court that they received information from concerned citizens in Katabi that there was an illegal gun being used in robberies between Abaita babiri, Kasenyi, and Entebbe Express High Way.
However, Tumukunde noted that on May 18 2018 he had traveled to Entebbe and while in a shop with his friend, he was arrested and taken to Kasenyi Police Station. Tumukunde added that a few minutes later, he was taken to an open house where he found two men with SMG and they informed Tumukunde that the gun belonged to him.
In their ruling, the seven-member panel of the Court Martial noted that they are convinced that Tumukunde was found with the gun in his house.
“The accused did not account for the said gun and ammunition to prove that they had been issued to him in the course of his employment. In the charge and caution statement, he stated that one Omona wanted to sell the gun and he directed him where it was hidden and he went and picked it”, said Gutti.
Prosecutor Lt Alex Lasto Mukhwana asked the court to hand Tumukunde an appropriate sentence. But Tumukunde’s lawyer Major Silas Kamanda Mutungi asked for more time to make a response. The court was adjourned to April 12 2022 for sentencing.
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