A Local Defense Unit officer-LDU who accidentally fired a live bullet at his colleague while cleaning his gun has been sentenced to 3 years imprisonment by the Uganda People’s Defense Forces-UPDF 1st division court-martial.
The eight-member court chaired by Col. Sam Mugenyi leniently convicted Asuman Juma Musuya on his own guilty plea for shooting to death Mamuli Atanansi.
Prosecution heard that Musuya on the 26th of July 2019 at Namanve LDU detach was cleaning his gun SMG1566015005 when he accidentally unleashed two bullets that targetted his colleague who was sleeping in his tent.
The prosecution led by Capt. Ketigan Mugisha told the military court at Kakiri barracks that while on night duty at a Chinese factory in Namanve in Mukono district Musuya loaded his gun with a bullet in the chamber and when he returned to the detach he forgot to remove the bullets from the chamber.
Capt. Ketigan says Musuya cleaned his firearm without applying safety measures, which led to the death of his colleague.
The 1st Division Spokesperson Maj. Bilal Yusuf Katamba, said although it is not common for one to forget a gun in the chambers , it sometimes happens.
LDU’s have been a point of focus in Uganda for sometime ,shooting dead people and taking the law into their hands on several occasions.
Ugandans have also criticized the UPDF for handing over guns to LDUs without adequate training.
