UGANDA: Uganda convicts 16 opposition members for ‘treachery’

  A Ugandan military tribunal has convicted 16 members of an opposition party of “illegal possession of explosive devices and treachery”, according to a defence lawyer, who said the proceedings were suspect. The prosecution alleged that the 16 members of the National Unity Platform, as well as others still on the run, were found in […]

 

A Ugandan military tribunal has convicted 16 members of an opposition party of “illegal possession of explosive devices and treachery”, according to a defence lawyer, who said the proceedings were suspect.

The prosecution alleged that the 16 members of the National Unity Platform, as well as others still on the run, were found in possession of explosives between November 2020 and May 2021, while elections were underway.

“Circumstances surrounding their plea of guilty to the charges they had denied previously was questionable,” Shamim Malende, a defence lawyer, told AFP.

Former singer and opposition figure Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, claimed the group had been forced to plead guilty and seek a presidential pardon.

The 16 have spent four years in jail, and will appear in court Wednesday (today) for their sentencing.