The General Court Martial has convicted two former Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) recruits, Hamza Lyavaala and Adiil Walusansa, of murder after they pleaded guilty to the charges.
The two admitted to participating in plans to carry out a bomb attack during the June 3, 2025 Martyrs’ Day celebrations in Munyonyo, as well as a planned bomb attack at Kalerwe Market. Lyavaala and Walusansa are jointly charged with Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Munyonyo incident occurred on the morning of June 3, 2025, near the Munyonyo Catholic Martyrs Shrine, as Uganda marked Martyrs’ Day. The UPDF said its counter-terrorism unit had intercepted two suspected terrorists about 600 metres from their intended target. An explosion then occurred on a motorcycle carrying a man and a woman. Both died in the incident.
The army identified the woman as Aisha Katushabe, also known as Sumayiyah Byaruhanga or Kabonesa, and said preliminary intelligence linked her to the ADF. Security officials said she had previously been arrested in 2023 over suspected links to the group. The motorcycle rider was identified only in connection with the name under which the motorcycle was registered, Yusuf Musana.
According to the UPDF, the Munyonyo operation followed intelligence that the ADF was planning to attack worshippers and pilgrims attending Martyrs’ Day celebrations. Security officials said the explosion occurred before the suspects could reach the shrine, thereby preventing what they described as a potentially larger attack.
The blast happened about 30 kilometres from the main Martyrs’ Day celebrations at the Namugongo Catholic and Anglican shrines, where more than two million pilgrims were expected to gather. Despite the incident, the celebrations at Namugongo continued without interruption under heightened security.
The Kalerwe incident occurred several weeks later, on June 22, 2025, when security operatives shot dead a suspected female suicide bomber near Kalerwe Market in Kampala. The woman was carrying an improvised explosive device in a bag and, according to the army, was attempting to enter the busy market.
The army later said the suspect had been under surveillance for several days. According to Maj Gen Felix Kulayigye, intelligence personnel had followed the woman after she picked a boda boda in Busega and monitored her movements before intercepting her near Kalerwe. She was shot after allegedly refusing to stop and proceed no further towards the market.
The bomb was subsequently handled by the bomb squad and detonated in a controlled operation. The incident caused panic among vendors, motorists and residents, with witnesses describing people fleeing the market after hearing gunshots and warnings about a bomb.
The Kalerwe incident came less than three weeks after the Munyonyo explosion and heightened concerns over possible attacks on crowded public places in Kampala.
In the case before the General Court Martial, prosecution alleges that the Munyonyo and Kalerwe incidents were part of plans involving the accused former ADF recruits.
The prosecution alleges that the attacks resulted in the deaths of Sumayiya Baruhanga, the woman who was carrying the bomb in Munyonyo, a boda boda rider, and Sawiya, who was shot dead in Kalerwe.
The guilty pleas by Lyavaala and Walusansa now place their admissions at the centre of the prosecution’s case against their co-accused, Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga, who has denied the charges.
