Bombo shooting suspect has case to answer - court

Pte Odoch says he fled from Bombo to Oyam because he had lost his gun, but knew nothing about the killings.

Bombo

The General Court Martial sitting at Bombo Health Centre has ruled that Pte Patrick Okot Odoch has a case to answer and directed him to defend himself against all the 15 counts brought against him. Pte Odoch was produced in the Court Martial on March 27, and charged on 15 counts, among them the murder of 10 people.

The General Court Martial chairman, Brig. Fred Tolit, in his ruling for a ‘prima facie case’ against Pte Odoch yesterday said: “Court had relied on the testimony of the 25 prosecution witnesses, including the exhibits brought before court by the State.”
“The Court holds a strong opinion that it has proved a prima facie case against Private Patrick Okot Odoch. You have to defend yourself on all the 15 counts brought against you in this honourable Court.” Brig. Tolit ruled.

Pte Odoch, who opted to defend himself on oath, told court that he was a pagan and would take the oath in the name of his ancestral spirits, though he uses the name Patrick, a request which court granted.
Pte Odoch told Court during yesterday’s cross examination by his defence lawyer, Capt. Nasser Moses Drago, that he only escaped to his home area in Oyam District on March 9 after realising that his gun had been stolen.

He argued that he ran away because the army has tough punishments for soldiers who lose guns, which he feared to face. “The experience I have in the army about the punishment one would get after losing his gun made me to escape. My body fears harsh conditions and I knew that this was what was to happen if I stayed around after losing my gun.” Mr Odoch told Court.

The accused told court that the only case he is aware of is that of losing a gun, and that many of the people who appeared in Court claiming to know him were a surprise because he was seeing them for the first time in his life.

Pte Odoch also made a contradiction regarding his uniform when he told Court that he had left his uniform at home yet he was on guard duty. He claimed that he got civilian clothes from a friend whom to help him escape to his home area in Oyam District.

Court was adjourned to today when the prosecution side starts its submissions regarding the case.

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