36 Ugandans Arraigned In Court For Attending Terrorist Training in Kenya
On Monday, 36 Ugandan opposition members deported from Kenya were charged with terrorism at the Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court.
These individuals were members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), one of the East African country’s main opposition parties. They consisted of 33 men and three women.
According to Ugandan media, the group was accused of being in Kenya to provide or receive terrorist training before being apprehended by Kenyan police.
Ugandans in Kenya claimed to have been tortured before being deported to Uganda. They were turned over to Uganda’s military intelligence agency, the Internal Security Organization (ISO).
. @mkituuma "A group of thirty-six (36) Ugandans, including three (03) females, is currently in our custody after being arrested in Kisumu, Kenya, and subsequently handed over to Ugandan authorities on the night of July 24, 2024.
— Uganda Police Force (@PoliceUg) July 29, 2024
They were engaged in covert activities that are… pic.twitter.com/An5wEptKbK
Additionally, while detained in Kenya, their belongings, including phones and computers, were confiscated by Kenyan authorities.
The party, however, denied the charges, claiming that the members were in Kenya for a leadership and government training course in Kisumu on July 23.
In a video shared by the Daily Monitor, the suspects can be heard singing at Uganda’s Nakawa Chief Magistrate’s Court.
“We shall overcome, Museveni will go someday,” they were heard chanting.
The individuals, through their lawyer, Erias Lukwago, described the charges against them as ridiculous. The 36 will be remanded to August 13.
A group of FDC Katonga faction members have this morning been presented to Nakawa Magistrate Court.
— NBS Television (@nbstv) July 29, 2024
They where taken into custody after they were arrested in Kisumu & handed over to Ugandan authorities for allegedly engaging in covert activities.
📸 @Mutatinaoffici2#NBSUpdates pic.twitter.com/RfeDBgcV3d
Kifefe Kizza Besigye, the former president of the FDC, condemned the unlawful manner in which the 36 were allegedly returned from Kenya with the assistance of Ugandan officers and Kenyan authorities.
He complained that they were deported to Uganda at night without passing through Kenyan or Ugandan immigration officials.
Besigye took to social media to argue that the group had been fully invited to the training course and had entered Kenya legally, only to be ambushed at night, beaten up, and violently arrested.
“The place where they were to hold their workshop was lawfully engaged,” he wrote.
“They were illegally arrested; illegally deported; apart from the torture and other Human Rights violations done by government forces of both Uganda and Kenya.
“What’s surprising and worrying in this incident, is the behaviour of Kenya government. I hope Kenyan institutions can investigate this matter, to address the situation.”
36 Ugandans Arraigned In Court For Attending Terrorist Training in Kenya
