Ugandan court jails 6 on terrorism charges

By Halima Athumani

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - The High Court in Uganda on Tuesday sentenced four leaders of an extremist group to life imprisonment on charges of terrorism.

A three-member bench led by Justice Ezekiel Muwanguzi handed down life sentences to Mohammed Yunus Kamoga, Siraje Kawooya, Multadha Mudde Bukenya and Kalungi Fahad.

Muwanguzi said: “We sentence them for all their lives on earth, because they are leaders who orchestrated the crime instead of being good role models.”

Two others, Kakande Yusuf and Sekayanja Abdul Salam were sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Fourteen people had initially been charged with the murder of 13 Muslim leaders, dissident members of the group, between December 2013 and 2015.

Of those charged, six were convicted, while the others were acquitted.

The prosecution argued that the offenses had been planned in meetings during sessions at mosques.

The defense said their clients had been convicted on largely unsubstantial evidence.

As the convicts were ushered into a prison bus, many of their followers gathered outside the court and wept, while some fainted.

Siraje Nsambu, a spokesperson for Muslims in Uganda, called the judgment “malicious and hateful”.

“If Muslim leaders are detained under mysterious circumstances, we will not allow this to go on. We are going to fight till we secure justice and freedom for our leaders,” he told reporters.

Nsambu added: “We believe this sentence has been politically orchestrated by the government to see that our leaders remain incarcerated in prison. We will file an appeal.”