The State has today presented two witnesses to the High Court in Soroti to defend its position on the alleged killing and looting of properties worth millions of cash during the insurgency in Teso.
The government defence team was Led by acting principle state attorney Eric Mukisa and Diana Mudola the senior state attorney.
The state had four witnesses all who are soldiers to testify against the Teso war victims claims.
The first witness to appear in the High Court dock before resident judge, Justice Dr Henry Adonyo was Brig Gen Fred Segamwenge who was cross examined by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Richard Omongole.
Having denied in his witness statement that NRA now UPDF never committed atrocities in Teso between the year 1986 to 2004, Brig Gen Fred Segamwenge admitted that some soldiers could have committed atrocities in Teso that led to loss of lives and properties if they had not followed their commanders orders.
His admission follows evidence that plaintiff’s lawyer Omongole tabled including a report on the Mukura massacre of 1989 where a group of soldiers under the command of David Tinyefusa rounded 169 civilians and suffocated them to death in 1989 following a rebellion led by some sons of Teso who resisted NRA now NRM government.
Ssegamwenge denied being in Teso between 1986 – 1992 and that at that time he was at the rank of Lieutenant but deployed in Lango and Acholi sub-region as a commander.
He said at the time, he could get messages from Teso using their military communication network.
He confirmed that he was transferred to Olilim in Teso in 2001 as battalion commander to fight cattle rustlers and that during his presence in Teso the division commander Col. Guti in June 2003 called him that the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) had invaded Teso Obalanga.
He however admitted that the UPDF could have failed to protect the lives and properties of People properly.
Ssegamwenge later regretted the actions of some NRA soldiers who participated in the wagon death who never followed their duty of protecting lives and property as expected.
When asked whether in his opinion the war victims should be compensated by government he replied in affirmative.
“Where there is verified facts, the ministry should compensate them,” he said.
Papras Imodot one of the war victim claimants asked the state witness whether he knows battalion 301 that allegedly killed a total of 22 youths in Apalitunga in Teso College Aloet.
The second witness Paul Musale 56 years was asked if he remembers giving witness against case of Oluka John verses Attorney general he admitted in affirmative that he appended his signature.
Musale is the acting under secretary at the ministry of Defence since 2019 to date.
He requested court to allow him make some corrections on the evidence he made in the case of Oluka John and 9 verses Attorney General; including the amount of money from UGX 18 million to UGX 18BN awarded to Oluka John by court as compensation against loss of property.
Imodot Papras Edimu and 105 others verses Attorney General of 2012 the plaintiff’s were represented by counsel Omongole Richard Musali signed the document on 15th May 2005.
The judge ruled that Musali was going to give evidence pertaining the case Imodot and Oluka verses attorney general.
The plaintiffs’ counsel Richard Omongole asked Musale whether he was in 1986 – 1992 he replied that he was not in Teso by then.
Omongole tasked Musale whether he knew about the killings and cattle rustling that took place in Teso about the atrocities that were committed by the UPDF and LRA atrocities in Teso.
Musale also denied knowledge of TAPCO, Imodot, Oluka, Teso War claimants in Teso but in his testimony Musale stated that, “I know the case of Oluka was filed in 2009 that the claimants’ home in Ngora and their property were looted by the Zulu rebels, lives lost in Teso.”
He also told court that he has not looked at all the files in the ministry of Justice and Defence pertaining the war claimants of Oluka and other verses attorney general.
Musale testified before court that the government’s position is to compensate the livestock only for all categories of war claimants in Teso.
He told court that a total of 33,664 have so far have been verified from Teso sub-region from 2016.
He requested court to grant them 14 working days to respond to the court order that ordered Solicitor General and Attorney General asking for the list of the already verified war claimants that government is ready to compensate.
Later Court adjourned the exercise ordering the ministry to produce the list of already verified claimants who have either been paid and those who have not been paid.
Court as well demanded the directive of the president ordering for the compensation of all war claimants in Teso.
He was then asked to return to court on 8th June 2023 with the required documents that the court had ordered the ministry to present.
