Terrorism case: Ugandan businessman, co-accused face trial over aiding ADF child recruits
Ugandan businessman Sheikh Sharif Ssekabira (R) and Pascal Thembo in the dock at the Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s court on April 23, 2025. PHOTO/JULIET KIGONGO
What you need to know:
- The accused face counts under Uganda’s Anti-Terrorism Act and Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act.
A Ugandan sheikh and a boda-boda rider have been committed to the High Court over charges of aggravated child trafficking and aiding a terrorist organisation.
On Wednesday, Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi ordered businessman Sheikh Sharif Ssekabira, 26, and Pascal Thembo, 30, to stand trial before the International Crimes Division for their alleged involvement in transporting children linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a designated terrorist group.
“You are hereby committed to the International Crimes Division of the High Court to stand trial at the next convenient date,” Mr Kayizzi ruled.
According to the indictment, prosecutors allege that in early May 2024, police received intelligence that Ssekabira was aiding the movement of ADF recruits between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He was arrested on May 5 at his home in Kyengera, Wakiso District, with two minors aged 7 and 14.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said Ssekabira admitted to receiving the juveniles from a contact named Hashim, whom he had met in 2015 while studying Islam in Mombasa, Kenya.
Hashim, now reportedly based in South Africa, allegedly asked Ssekabira to help reunite the children with their relatives in Kiryandongo District.
Investigations allege that the children were instead former child soldiers, previously held in ADF camps in eastern DRC. One of the boys reportedly underwent military training at a camp known as “Madina” under the command of Sheikh Musa Baluku, the ADF’s current leader.
During questioning, the boy allegedly described witnessing battles, being shot in the abdomen, and eventually escaping alongside several others, including Hashim, Abdullah, and Sanka. After fleeing the camp, the children were allegedly guided to the Uganda border and given Ssekabira’s contact information.
Prosecutors say Thembo, a boda boda rider, received the children from Beni and escorted them to a rendezvous point at a Total petrol station in Kyengera. He was later tracked and arrested in Kasese District.
“The minor further revealed that he eventually met his father at the ADF camp but that he later died from injuries sustained in battle,” the indictment reads in part.
Authorities say the two minors positively identified known ADF commanders from photos shown during interrogation, including Meddie Nkalubo and Mzee Luminsa Muhammad.
The accused face multiple counts under Uganda’s Anti-Terrorism Act and Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act.
Prosecutors allege that between 2022 and 2024, the pair and others still at large, moved recruits across Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and the DRC, knowing that their actions supported the ADF’s terror activities.
Among the evidence lined up are call data records, forensic reports, mobile devices, police statements, and photographs.
The children are now in government custody, and the trial date is expected to be set in the coming weeks.
