Soldiers sentenced for killing priest

KAMPALA, Uganda -- A military court sentenced two soldiers to death Monday after finding them guilty of murdering an Irish priest, a military official said.

The soldiers were arrested over the weekend after Father Declan O'Toole was gunned down on Wednesday night in the northeastern town of Kotido, about 250 miles from the capital, Kampala.

The trial took place at a military barracks near Kotido. There was no known motive.

Twesigye told The Associated Press that one of the soldiers would face a firing squad in Kotido, while the other would be executed by firing squad in Moroto, about 37 miles northwest of Kotido.

"We want to show the public that the crime was carried out by individuals, but not by the army as an institution. They are supposed to be executed in public to show everybody that we are not part of their activities," Twesigye said in a telephone interview from Moroto.

Army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza said there would be no appeal. He would not speculate on a motive for the slaying.

O'Toole, who was traveling from Moroto when his vehicle was ambushed, was a member of the Mill Hill missionary order based in Uganda.