The International Crimes Division of the High Court, has sentenced Jamal Kiyemba alias Abudallah to 6 years’ imprisonment for soliciting support for a terrorist organisation, namely, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
On Tuesday, the court considered both the aggravating and mitigating factors of the case in arriving at the sentence.
Among others, it considered the gravity of the offence, societal protection, the need for deterrence, the fact that it was a single incident of solicitation and that the solicitation did not have an effect of recruitment into the ADF, the bipolar condition of the convict and other personal circumstances of the convict past and present.
The evidence adduced by the prosecution proved that on January 29, 2022, at about 9:30 a.m., while at the Old Taxi Park and heading to Bugiri District, Jamal Kiyemba shouted, “Long live ADF,” and urged members of the public to support the ADF, warning that blood would continue to be shed in Kampala if they failed to do so.
Initially, Kiyemba had been charged with three offences under the Anti-Terrorism Act: rendering support to a terrorist organisation, belonging to or professing to belong to a terrorist organisation, and soliciting or inviting support for a terrorist organisation, but he was acquitted of the first two charges, and found guilty of soliciting support for the ADF.
The sentence of the Court is proportionate and commensurate with the circumstances of the case.
