5 terrorism convicts sentenced to life imprisonment, two jailed 50years each

The terrorism convicts in court (Front row) during their sentencing last month. Photo by Michael Kakumirizi

KAMPALA.

Five of the eight men convicted on Thursday for carrying out the 2010 Kampala twin bombings at Kyadondo and Kabalagala that killed at least 76 people who were watching the World Cup finals between Spain and the Netherlands have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Issa Ahmed Luyima, Hussein Hassan Agad alias Hussein Agade, Idris Magondu alias Christopher Magondu, Habib Suleiman Njoroge and Mohamed Ali Mohamed who were condemned to life imprisonment and others had on Thursday this week, been found guilty of having masterminded the Kampala bombings but presiding Judge Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, reserved the reading of the sentencing to today (Friday).
During the thirteen minutes reading, Justice Owiny-Dollo also sentenced Hassan Haruna Luyima and Selemani Hijar Nyamandondo to 50 years each in prison.
While passing the second highest punishment under the law books of this country which is after the death penalty, Justice Owiny-Dollo held that the ‘grave crimes’ of terrorism committed at the duo social hang outs must correspondingly attract a severe punishment.

“ The grave crimes of terrorism and murder, ruthlessly committed in the Kyadondo Rugby Club and the Ethiopian Village Restaurant, must correspond attract severe punishment. I however, do not believe that the death sentence would really assuage the victims and give closure to the indelible pain that the society has suffered on account of terrorist and murderous acts…” said Justice Owiny-Dollo.
He continued: “Terrorism especially the one that is indiscriminately perpetuated by targeting innocent and non-combatant members of the society (the soft underbelly of the society), is most repugnant and cannot be justified by whatever cause however, seemingly compelling it may be. The hundreds of victims of these wanton acts had nothing to do with the decision to deploy the UPDF in the Somalia.”

“ I daresay it is quite probable that amongst the victims of the bomb blast were those who were irreconcilable opposed to the deployment and yet because if these senseless and indiscriminate attacks, they are either dead or permanently living with the scars of these blameworthy deeds.”
The same court sentenced Muzafar Luyima, to one year’s community service in his area of Namasuba along Entebbe Road since he was facing a lighter offense of being an accessory to the crime.
While handing him the community service punishment, the judge justified that the offense he was facing attracts up to the maximum of three years and that he had been on remand for the last six years. According to the judge, it does not serve justice to continue keeping him in jail.

Breaking down his punishment, the judge said he will work for four hours in two days per week for the entire one year.
Earlier in the day during the mitigation process, the prosecution led by Mr Lino Anguzu, asked court to pass the maximum punishment of death by hanging.
Mr Lino justified his prayer for the death penalty on grounds that the aggravating circumstances that saw the convicts participate in the offense that led to the loss of at least 76 lives, fall in the category of the ‘worst’ of the ‘worst’ and that they deserve to suffer death.

The state prosecutor further told the trial judge that the convicts long planned the deadly attacks in 2009 in Somalia before their eventual execution in Kampala in July 2010.
“Taking into account the matters I have raised. This is a proper case of the rarest of the rarest to impose death sentence. Each one of them played a crucial role in the successful detonation of the bombs,” Mr Anguzu submitted to court.

“This is probably the most heaneous crime that has ever happened at a single go. Terrorism is real and the perpetuators should be punished.”
But Justice Owiny-Dollo chipped and demanded from the state on why they are praying for the death sentence and yet God did not sentence the first ever murderer in the universe to death but just put a mark so that people could avoid him.
In a short response, Mr Anguzu agreed with the judge’s example but said that was God and the court should not be bound by the same actions of God but should go ahead and impose the maximum penalty.

On the contrary, the defense lawyers representing the eight convicts who were led by Mr Caleb Alaka, prayed to court to be lenient while handing them the punishment.
In his mitigating factors, Mr Alaka told court that all the convicts were first offenders with a past clean record and that a death sentence is not a good punishment.
He added that their being young at the time of the commission of the offense could have been washed by the ideological and religious urge to engage in what they did.
“These were very young people in their late twenties at the time of commission of the crime and therefore you can’t rule out the ideological and brain washing by the Al-Shaabab during their training in Somalia and they were extremely vulnerable,” Mr Alaka told court.

But at the tail end of his mitigation, Mr Alaka rubbed the judge the wrong way when he asked the judge to consider that his clients have families back at home who need their support.
The charged judge told off Mr Alaka that he was opening up the wounds of the victims who lost their beloved ones in the twin blasts on grounds that they also had families that they left behind orphaned.
However, the convicts are free to appeal against both the conviction and sentence if they are not satisfied by the judge’s ruling.