Murder charges preferred against Zombo barracks attackers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Charges of murder have been preferred against the 59 suspects who were arrested following the recent attacks on the Uganda People’s Defense Forces barracks located in Zombo district.

The suspects, some of whom have been in detention since 2020, are charged with the deaths of five soldiers in an attack on March 6, 2020, and another in July 2021. They were arrested from Packwach, Zombo and Arua district in the aftermath of the attack and arraigned before the 4th Division Court Martial in Gulu district at different intervals on holding charges of treason.

However, they were later transferred to Kitalya min-max prison awaiting to be charged formally by the General Court Martial. But their stay in Kitalya has been contested by human rights advocates and the officer in charge of Kitalya prison challenging their detention without trial.

“They have not appeared before any court for trial or committed to higher courts… It is becoming a matter of human rights concern. This is forwarded to you for study and necessary action,” the officer in charge of Kitalya prison, ASP Hamid Hussein Ayikomundu wrote to the prosecutor of the General Court Martial on October 8.

The suspects who include 25 Congolese of Lendu origin and others Ugandans from Zombo district are all members of the Uganda Homeland Liberation Force.

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