Call for new inquiry into priest's death in Uganda

The Government has been urged to demand an independent inquiry into the murder of a Galway priest in Uganda last year. An inquiry by the Ugandan government has cleared the Ugandan army of complicity in the murder of Father Declan O'Toole (31) from Curraghmore near Headford.

The Mill Hill missionary and his two Ugandan companions were shot dead by two soldiers in an ambush in north-east Uganda on March 21st, 2002. Within four days, two soldiers were arrested, tried and executed in public.

On Saturday, the Ugandan Defence Ministry released a report which said an inquiry into the murder had "exonerated the army of complicity".

"The board of inquiry did not find any evidence indicating complicity of the army in the murder of Father Declan O'Toole," the report said. "The death of Father O'Toole was the result of a criminal act of Cpl James Omedio and Pte Abdalla Mahamed, acting on their own and their personal interests."

It is understood that the report was completed last October but only released after representations from the Irish embassy in Kampala. A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Irish embassy had only received the report early yesterday. "The report is now being considered and we will respond to it in due course," she said.

A spokesman for Father O'Toole's family said the inquiry findings were not surprising. "It's what they expected to hear. It's the army investigating the army so it's not a major surprise. They had not been holding out any hopes," he said. As of last night, the family had not yet seen the report.

The inquiry was commissioned after complaints were made over the hasty trial and execution of the two soldiers. EU ambassadors made their concerns known to the Ugandan President, Mr Yoweri Museveni, and he said he would instigate an inquiry.

Tensions had been high between the army and locals in the Karamoja region before the killings, as the army was disarming the Karamojong tribe. Shortly before his death, Father O'Toole was assaulted by a soldier after complaining about army brutality during the disarmament process.

According to a report from the AFP news agency, the Irish embassy in Kampala said it believed the army had been involved in the murder.

"We had a feeling that the Ugandan army had directly killed the Father," the embassy's charge d'affaires, Mr Máirtin Ó Fannín, was quoted as telling the inquest board, composed mainly of military officers. Mr Ó Fannín said disagreements between the army and the priest before his death had triggered the soldiers' assault against him, AFP reported.

Yesterday, Father Bernard Phelan, vicar general of the Mill Hill Missionaries, told RTÉ he regretted the outcome of the inquiry and said the Irish Government should press for more answers from the Ugandan authorities.

Fine Gael's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Gay Mitchell, said the Government must demand an inquiry into the priest's murder.