Museveni pardons 19 NUP supporters, released after four years in prison
NUP supporter, Olivia Lutaaya poses for a photo with the party secretary general, David Lewis Rubongoya at the party headquarters in Kampala shortly after being released from Kitalya prison where she and several other opposition supporters spent four years in detention following their arrest over 2021 presidential polls. Photo/Courtesy of David Lewis Rubongoya on X
What you need to know:
- The minister emphasized that the young people had suffered in jail for over four years, during which politicians exploited them for financial gain.
President Yoweri Museveni has pardoned 19 National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters who were convicted of treachery and unlawful possession of ammunition under the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Act and the Firearms Act. T
Mr Frank Baine, the spokespersons of Uganda Prisons Service confirmed that they have received an instrument of power from the president pardoning 19 NUP supporters.
They were released today.
The prisoners were being kept at Kitalya government prison in Wakiso District.
In a statement issued to the Uganda Prisons Service, Museveni's pardon, granted under Article 121(1)(a) of the Constitution, brought an end to their imprisonment after they had spent four years in prison.
“In exercise of the power vested in me under Article 121(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995, as amended, and on the advice of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, I hereby grant a pardon to the persons listed below for the offence of treachery c/s 3(1)(2)(a) of the Firearms Act, Cap. 30,” the statement read.
Those pardoned include Olivia Lutaaya, Rashid Ssegujja, Robert Rugumayo, Muhydin Kakooza, Abdul Matovu, Kiwanuka Mesach, Wandera Ibrahim, Nagwere Asubat, Musaakuru Stephen, Muwanguzi Paul, Matovu Sharif, Mafabi Davis, Kigozi Livingstone, Katabi Swaibu, Mudebo Siraji, Mugnaz Joseph, and Lwanga Stanley.
This decision follows the appointment of Balaam Barugahara as the State Minister for Youth earlier in 2024. Mr Barugahara had vowed to support the imprisoned youths, even if it meant personally requesting President Museveni to pardon them.
Speaking to Monitor on November 22, Mr Barugahara noted that the majority of the pardoned individuals were youths. He explained that there were initially 31 NUP supporters involved in the case; three were granted bail, 19 pleaded guilty, and the rest were sentenced to several months in prison.
He said he wrote to the President one week after their sentencing, requesting a pardon.
“When I became a minister, I didn’t bring my wife to the swearing-in ceremony. Instead, I brought a young NUP supporter who had approached Gen Muhoozi during a rally to ask for help. I used this opportunity to request the President to pardon their friends as an Eid gift,” Mr Barugahara said.
Adding on, “After speaking to the President, he accepted and agreed to forgive them. However, there was a process. You cannot pardon someone who has not accepted their offence or pleaded guilty. These young people were willing to admit to their offences.”
The minister emphasized that the young people had suffered in jail for over four years, during which politicians exploited them for financial gain.
“I want to thank the President for answering the call of these young people. My next task is to rehabilitate them and support them in becoming productive members of society. I call upon other young people in trouble to know that I will serve them, regardless of their political affiliation,” Mr Barugahara said.
Last month, NUP party president, Mr Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine, openly accused youth minister Balaam Barugahara of visiting the jailed NUP supporters in prison and “pressuring them to plead guilty and seek Museveni’s forgiveness or else never leave prison.”
“While we have been routinely blocked from visiting these comrades, regime operatives have held unrestricted access to them during which they have held long, recorded conversations and exercised undue influence over them,” he wrote on X.
Bobi Wine has been emphasizing that “political prisoners Lutaaya and 15 others have succumbed to regime coercion and pleaded guilty to crimes they didn’t commit.”
The General Court Martial chaired by Brig Gen Freeman Mugabe on October 23 sentenced the group to five years imprisonment upon their own plea of guilt.
“This court considers the period of three years, four months, and eight days spent on remand and the sixteen months of defending yourselves. This court sentences as follows: on count one of treachery, each of you is sentenced to three months and twenty-two days in prison, while on count two of unlawful possession of ammunition, each of you is sentenced to a caution,” Brig Gen Mugabe ruled.
However, upon their sentence, the group showed their dissatisfaction and said that they will apply and also seek the presidential pardon.
Prosecution had alleged that between November 2020 and May 12, 2021, in diverse areas of Jinja, Mbale, Kireka, Nakulabye, Kawempe, Nateete, and Kampala Central, the accused were in possession of 13 pieces of explosive devices which are ordinarily a monopoly of the defence forces.
The group was arrested in Kalangala District while on the campaign trail of then-presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine.
They opted to plead guilty on charges of treachery and being in unlawful possession of ammunition contrary to Section 3 (1) and (2) of the Firearms Act for a lighter punishment.
However, their counterparts declined to plead guilty to the charges.
The nine who are still on remand are: Yasin Ssekitoleko Machete, Joseph Muwonge, Abdallah Kintu, Umar Emma Kato, Musa Kavuma, Jimmy Galukande, and Abdallah Kintu.
While those on bail are: Ronald Mayiga, Patrick Mwase, Richard Nyombi, Sharif Kalanzi, Musa Kavuma, Ibrahim Wandera, Kenneth Kamanya, Shafiq Ngobi, Abdallah Hakim Gibuswiwa, and Siraji Obalai Mudebo.
