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National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi’s bodyguard could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of unlawful possession of defence stores.

Achileo Kivumbi, 42, who is also part of the security heads at the NUP party headquarters at Makerere Kavule in Kampala's Kawempe Division, was arraigned before the General Court Martial on Monday, August 5, 2024. He was charged and denied the charge read to him.

According to the law, unlawful possession of defence stores contravenes sections 158 (1) (2) and (C) of the UPDF Act, Cap 330, and is punishable by a maximum life imprisonment sentence upon conviction.

Upon denying the charge, Mugabe said, “This court notes that you, Kivumbi, have denied the charge read to you. A plea of not guilty is hereby entered, and you are remanded to Luzira Government Prison until September 2, 2024, when you will be returned to this case for mention of your case.”

Torture Claims

Prior to adjourning the case, the accused’s lawyers, George Musisi and Benjamin Katana, told the court that Kivumbi needed immediate medical attention, alleging that he was badly beaten on the day of his arrest, and therefore, granting him bail would be paramount to enable him to get proper treatment.

“My Lord, the plain-clothed security personnel who arrested Kivumbi severely beat him, and he is not in good shape as you see him. He is in need of medical attention,” Kivumbi’s lawyers told the GCM.

The lawyers also requested that the GCM remand the suspect at Luzira Prison so that his relatives, who they said were in court, could access him easily. This request was rejected by the prosecution led by Captain Alex Rasto Mukhwana but was overruled by the court.

“My Lord, we also need the accused’s four phones that he was arrested with. Let the state give them to the accused’s relatives,” submitted Mukhwana.

Musisi also refuted the charges, wondering how the suspect possessed the said defence stores on August 3, 2024, “Yet he was in CMI [Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence] custody from Thursday when he was abducted.”

State refutes torture allegations

Responding to the defence torture allegations, Mukhwana told the court that he was not there when the suspect was arrested and that it was not in his knowledge that he (Kivumbi) was beaten.

“For the issue of phones, our record officer who received the suspect admits that we indeed received the said phones but they were re-taken by security for further extraction,” he said.

The charge

Prosecution alleges that on August 3, 2024, at around 3:00 pm, while at East II ‘B’ Zone, Nansana Municipality in Wakiso District, Kivumbi was found in unlawful possession of one (01) pair of Lieutenant Colonel pips, the said pips being a gazette of the Defence stores.