The General Court Martial in Makindye chaired by Brig. Richard Tukacungurwa, has granted amnesty to nine supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP), ending almost six years of their detention.
On Friday, the group which included Yasin Ssekitoleko alias Machete, Patrick Mwase, Sharif Kalanzi, Joseph Muwonge, Abdalla Kintu, Emma Umar Kato, Musa Kavuma, Jimmy Galukande and Abdallah Hakim Gibusiwa were released from detention after the prosecution didn’t object to their application for pardon under the country’s Amnesty Act.
The court subsequently approved the requests and ordered that the nine be transferred to the Uganda Amnesty Commission.
Following their release, the group was driven to the National Unity Platform (NUP) headquarters at Makerere Kavule, where they were welcomed by the party Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya.
In a statement released shortly after the release, NUP revealed that the group applied for amnesty after being weighed down by the long period of detention, and finally accepted to plead guilty to crimes they did not commit.
“The regime changed strategy and compelled them to apply for Amnesty! So the military court has this morning sent them to the Amnesty Commission from where they will be given Amnesty Certificates and released” the statement read.
NUP further raised concern over the possibility of the nine being hijacked by security operatives and taken to Kyankwanzi.
While speaking to media briefly following his release at the NUP headquarters at Makerere Kavule, Machete revealed that he was still in disbelief, that he had left the detention facility.
“I thank you the media, you have done great wonders for us, my fellow nine prisoners, deciding to stay with me through the imprisonment duration and all Ugandans both within and abroad, whoever has ever been imprisoned and those that have never, thank you for standing with us and ask you to stand with us to the end, and our lovely families thank you a lot” he said.
The nine had been in military custody since the aftermath of the 2021 General Election, facing charges of treachery under Section 127(a) of the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) Act and unlawful possession of ammunition under Section 158(2) (c) of the same law.
Prosecution alleged that the group was found in illegal possession of 13 pieces of explosive devices between November 2020 and May 2021 in areas of Jinja, Mbale, Kireka, Nakulabye, Kawempe, Natete, and Kampala Central.
They were arrested by CMI operatives after the Police accused them of plotting to carry out petrol bomb attacks targeting government vehicles and buildings in various places in the country.
Police claimed that the suspects masterminded attacks on Kasubi Royal tombs, on former Jinja resident city commissioner Eric Sakwa in Nakulabye, on Uganda Registration Services Bureau, and the Katwe Police station, among others.
They were reportedly planning to block President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni from swearing in for his sixth term of office.
In seeking amnesty, the group admitted to participating in the alleged rebellious activities, renounced any future involvement in rebellion and pledged to abide by the law.
