Four UPDF soldiers charged for killing Benon Nsimenta

Four Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers have been charged with the murder of Benon Nsimenta, a lay reader who was shot dead in the wee hours of June 24 at Hima in Kasese District in western Uganda.
Nsimenta’s widow, Allen Musimenta, told Daily Monitor on June 24 that she was with her husband on a motorcycle at around at around 7am heading to the garden in Kanamba village in Karusandara sub-county when they met soldiers at Karungibati along Hima-Kasese road, one of whom shot her husband at close range.

The four soldiers identified as Pte Abraham Lokwap, Pte Jackson Nyero, Pte Joel Otim and Lt. Talent Akampurira, all attached to the 6th Mountain Brigade Battalion (Hima, Kasese) were on Monday arraigned before the Mountain Division of the court martial chaired by Col. Felix Nyero at Karusandara in Kasese District.
They pleaded guilty to the offence of murder.

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Widow of killed lay reader disputes army's version of events

"One of the soldiers came close and just fired a bullet into his neck"

Prosecution presented three witnesses who included Ms Musimenta and Doctor Jonathan Kateremwa who conducted Nsimenta’s autopsy.

The army had last week claimed, in statement that Nsimenta was hit by a stray bullet which version Ms Musimenta dismissed.
Nsimenta’s death adds to the rising causality numbers of the virus-induced lockdown which involved President Museveni banning motorcycles from transporting passengers in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Mr Museveni said the virus can easily be spread on a motorcycle since there’s no observing social distancing.

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