Uganda suspends officers sent to Somalia on AU mission
Sep 17, 2013 - 4:35:16 AM
Uganda has suspended 20 army officers accused of corruption in Somalia while
battling Islamist militants as part of an African Union (AU) force, a
Ugandan army spokesman has told the BBC.
The officers are accused of selling food and fuel, meant for troops, on the
black market, reports say.
The Ugandan contingent head, Brigadier Michael Ondoga, is among those being
investigated.
Uganda is the biggest contributor to the AU force of about 18,000.
The force, funded mainly by the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU)
is fighting the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group in Somalia.
Brigadier Ondoga has not commented on the allegations.
'Only one meal'
He was among the officers who had been recalled for allegedly "getting
involved in conduct injurious" to the AU force, a Ugandan defence ministry
spokesman said, AFP news agency reports.
Army spokesman Colonel Paddy Ankunda told the BBC Swahili Service that the
20 would remain suspended, pending the outcome of an investigation into the
allegations against them.
The investigation followed complaints by junior officers of "unscrupulous
conduct" by their superiors, he said.
This included allegations that junior officers were not being paid and food
meant for them was being sold, Col Ankunda told the BBC.
The suspended officers would be court-martialled and dismissed from the army
if found guilty, he added.
Uganda's privately owned Daily Monitor newspaper said in a report that
Ugandan soldiers in Somalia often get only one meal a day because of the
alleged theft and sale of food to private companies.
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni had cancelled Brig Ondoga's appointment
as military attache to Kenya, it reports.
He was due to have taken the post when his term as head of the Ugandan
contingent in Somalia ended at the end of the month, the Daily Monitor adds.
Uganda has more than 6,000 troops in the AU force in Somalia.
Other countries that have deployed troops to Somalia as part of the AU force
include Burundi, Kenya and Djibouti.
The force has helped the UN-backed Somali government regain control of key
cities and towns from al-Shabab.
However, most of southern Somalia still remains under al-Shabab's control.
Received on Wed Sep 18 2013 - 13:13:53 EDT