Junior officers disciplined in Uganda

Six junior officers of the Uganda People's Defence Forces have been punished for conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline. It's another social media case, according to this Observer report:

[Unit Disciplinary Committee] prosecutor, Lt John Emmanuel Alihihi, told court that on or around November 19th to 23rd 2017, the officers, using social media, downloaded and shared a classified military document referred to as "General Administrative Order (GAO)" copy number 36 and published it amongst different social media groups. 

According to prosecution, the document which contained instructions and names of promoted officers was published by officers without proper authority and that such authority is only a preserve of the Defence spokesperson on superior orders. 

Col [Tom] Kabuye, the chairman [Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence] disciplinary court, informed the accused that the highest punishment in an event an officer or militant, releases unauthorised information is imprisonment not less than two years and later dismissal from the defence forces with disgrace. 

All the six officers pleaded guilty to the offence and asked for forgiveness saying they did it out of ignorance and excitement over their promoted colleagues. 

Court ruled that the six be imprisoned for two months as a deterrence measure and a way of taming excitement from any other officer or militant intending to share classified information. Col Kabuye explained that the reason for giving them a lean sentence was a result of their cooperation during the trial. 

"The accused did not waste the court's time since all of them were convicted on their own plea of guilty, they were first time offenders and that the army has invested a lot of resources in their training and development therefore dismissing them at junior ranks at the peak of their productivity would be counterproductive," he stated. 

If not satisfied with the court's decision, the sentenced officers were advised to appeal in the General Court Martial within 14 days.

It seems that in Uganda promotions are classified.