Fake bomb convicts’ sentencing adjourned to November 4
Hamza Lyavaala and Adil Walusansa were due to be sentenced on November 2, 2026, by the General Court Martial presided over by Brig. Gen. Richard Tukacungurwa.
Hamza Lyavaala and Adil Walusansa standing in the dock at the General Court Martial. (Photo by Barbra Kabahumuza)
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The sentencing of two former Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) recruits convicted of murdering two women in bomb incidents linked to the 2025 Martyrs' Day celebrations has been adjourned to November 4, 2026.
Hamza Lyavaala and Adil Walusansa were due to be sentenced on November 2, 2026, by the General Court Martial presided over by Brig. Gen. Richard Tukacungurwa.
However, the court could not proceed after Tukacungurwa informed the parties that one of the members of the panel had lost two relatives.
The court chairman explained that the court could not proceed without the member, as the panel was not fully constituted.
He consequently adjourned the matter to November 4, 2026, for sentencing.
The adjournment comes after Lyavaala and Walusansa made a U-turn on October 26, 2026, and opted to maintain their guilty pleas to two counts of murder.
The two had, on October 12, 2026, sought to withdraw their guilty pleas and plead not guilty, reportedly on the advice of their lawyers.
Asked to explain their decision, the convicts told the court that they had wanted to testify against their co-accused, Lt. Col. Ephraim Byaruhanga, in the hope that their testimony would help them obtain lighter sentences.
They explained that they believed that telling the court how they had tried to save the lives of the two women who died would help them during sentencing.
They also pointed out that Byaruhanga had the final say in the alleged operations. The court subsequently reinstated their guilty pleas.
Lyavaala and Walusansa were convicted on their own pleas of guilt in connection with bomb incidents at Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine on June 3, 2025, during the Martyrs Day celebrations, and an alleged foiled attack at Kalerwe.
They are jointly charged with Byaruhanga, who is accused of masterminding the operations following disagreements with his superiors.
Prosecution evidence presented before the court indicated that about three weeks before the Martyrs' Day celebrations, Byaruhanga convened a meeting at Gowers Hotel in Namulanda, where he briefed Lyavaala and Walusansa about a planned suicide mission.
Court documents further indicate that Byaruhanga allegedly facilitated the two men to rent a house in Kinaawa, Nateete, arrange transport for two women from Busoga and link them to Anthony Ssekalaala, who allegedly made the improvised explosive devices.
Prosecutors allege that on June 3, 2025, Byaruhanga drove Lyavaala and Walusansa to Munyonyo and told them he had linked up with officers from the Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce (JAT), who believed the operation was genuine.
On June 21, 2025, another woman, Sawiya Azuta, was reportedly intercepted after Byaruhanga alerted JAT that she was carrying two bombs allegedly intended for detonation at Kalerwe Market.
The prosecution maintains that investigations established that the operations were staged and intended to create fear among the public and the State.
During the proceedings, prosecution counsel Lt. Regina Nanzala asked the court to impose the death penalty on Lyavaala and Walusansa, arguing that they had murdered two innocent women and that a severe sentence was necessary to protect the public.
Following the bomb incidents in Munyonyo and Kalerwe, several senior Uganda People's Defence Forces officers, including former Chief of Military Intelligence Gen. James Birungi, were arrested in connection with the alleged staged attacks.
Birungi has reportedly spent about a year in detention at Makindye Military Police Barracks over charges of treachery and other security-related offences.
The court also heard proceedings in Birungi's case on October 26, 2026, but adjourned it after the prosecution said it was not ready to proceed because its witness was out of the country on official duties.
The prosecution told the court that it had been scheduled to call a witness that day but did not do so in view of the anticipated ruling on the application by Lyavaala and Walusansa to withdraw their guilty pleas.
The State asked the court to further remand Byaruhanga until November 9, 2026, for the hearing to proceed.