The army court, based in the city suburbs of Makindye has sentenced a UPDF officer to 10-months imprisonment for cheating a military examination.
Lt. Gen Andrew Gutti whose contract was recently renewed by President Museveni handed Cadet Mary Tushemereirwe’s the jail term on grounds that prosecution proved that she on January 13, 2017 was caught with reference materials during an examination contrary to the school joining instructions.
According to Prosecution, the convict attempted to destroy the reference material by chewing and swallowing it but it was retrieved from her and refused an offer to re-do the examination.
The Gen Gutti on Tuesday while presiding over the General Court Martial said he does not find any reason to interfere with the trial courts verdict. Tushemereirwe, who is being represented by Patrick Kasumba, the MP for Bujenje County in Masindi district is currently serving her sentence at Military Police headquarters in Kampala.
“The trial court properly evaluated the evidence and correctly convicted and sentenced the appellant,” Gen Gutti ruled.
Gutti observed that the appellant’s conduct of destroying reference materials contravened the law under section 166 of the UPDF Act 2005, punishable with imprisonment not exceeding seven years.
The background
Last month Cadet Tushemereirwe was convicted of the offence of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline, by the Unit Disciplinary Court (UDC), of Kabamba Cadet Training School after she was found guilty of cheating an examination.
This prompted her to appeal against her sentence and conviction, stating that court relied on improperly scrutinized prosecution exhibits and evidence riddled with contradictions to convict her.
However the General Court Martial chaired by Gen Gutti stated that it did not find major contradictions or inconsistencies in the evidence of prosecution witnesses.
According to Gutti, the convict’s conduct was disgraceful and a breach of the defense forces’ core career progress aspect in training.
“Training is the backbone of any institution and therefore its code of conduct should be respected to the latter, least the institutional standards and hence tasks are compromised,” he stated.
He pointed out that the convict willfully shunned the school leadership option to re-do the exams and refusing to record a statement.