Uganda condemns 16 opposition members for ‘treachery’

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. (File: AFP)

KAMPALA: A Ugandan military tribunal Monday convicted 16 members of an opposition party of “illegal possession of explosive devices and treachery,” according to a defense 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 defense 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.
Journalists were barred from attending the session.
The 16 have spent four years in jail, and will appear in court Wednesday for their sentencing.
Uganda has been ruled since 1986 by Yoweri Museveni.
The last presidential elections in 2021 were marred by fraud, and demonstrations against yet another arrest of Bobi Wine were violently repressed by the police, resulting in at least 54 dead.
“Whatever Museveni’s government is doing, one day all those under him including himself will be called to account,” Bobi Wine told AFP, saying the accused had been “blackmailed by state agents.”