PATH TO FREEDOM: How Nine NUP Supporters Finally Walked Out of Military Custody

KAMPALA — For years, the military court in Makindye was more than a courtroom for nine supporters of the National Unity Platform (NUP). It was the place where a long-running legal battle over allegations of rebellion, explosives and national security repeatedly returned, even as time passed and their families waited for an ending.

On Friday, that wait took a decisive turn.

The General Court Martial granted amnesty to the nine men, bringing an end to their prolonged stay in military custody and transferring them to the Amnesty Commission for rehabilitation, counselling and reintegration into their communities.

The decision followed an unusual but crucial development: the State did not oppose their applications for amnesty.

Lt. Col. Raphael Mugisha, the Director of Prosecutions at the Court Martial, told the panel that the prosecution had no objection.

The panel, chaired by Brig. Richard Tukacungurwa, subsequently ordered that the nine be handed over to the Amnesty Commission in accordance with the Amnesty Act.

Nathan Twinomugisha, the Commission’s Principal Legal Officer, was in court to receive them.

For the nine men, the order represents the closing chapter of a case that began in the turbulent aftermath of Uganda’s 2021 elections and kept them entangled with the military justice system long after the political contest had ended.

From election aftermath to a military courtroom

The case emerged from a period when Uganda’s security agencies were pursuing opposition supporters and suspected armed groups following the 2021 presidential election, which was won by President Yoweri Museveni against NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine.

The prosecution accused the nine of being involved in an alleged armed network known as “Bali Bali.”

According to the State’s case, the group operated in parts of Kampala Metropolitan, Jinja and Mbale between March and May 2021.

Prosecutors alleged that its members recruited people, underwent military-style training and participated in activities that threatened national security, including attacks involving improvised explosive devices.

The allegations were not limited to the period after the election.

The State also alleged that the accused possessed improvised explosive devices between November 2020 and May 2021 in Kampala, Wakiso, Jinja and Mbale.

Police separately linked the suspects to alleged attacks or plots involving government vehicles and installations, the Kasubi Royal Tombs, former Jinja Resident City Commissioner Eric Sakwa, Uganda Registration Services Bureau offices and Katwe Police Station.

Those allegations ultimately brought the nine before the General Court Martial, where they faced charges of treachery under the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Act and unlawful possession of ammunition.

But the prosecution’s case was contested.

The accused declined to plead guilty and maintained that the charges had been fabricated.

The years between arrest and release

Their story is also one of prolonged detention.

The nine were among dozens of NUP supporters arrested during the wider security crackdown surrounding the 2021 election period. While some of their co-accused eventually secured their freedom through guilty pleas and presidential pardons, the nine remained caught in the court process.

Attempts to obtain bail were unsuccessful.

The years accumulated.

And with each passing year, the case became part of a larger political and human-rights debate about the treatment of opposition supporters in Uganda.

NUP has repeatedly maintained that many of its supporters were prosecuted on fabricated or politically motivated allegations.

The party has also argued that some of those who eventually pleaded guilty did so after spending prolonged periods in detention and facing pressure to secure their freedom.

The nine who received amnesty on Friday had taken a different route.

They did not plead guilty.

Instead, they remained in custody while their case continued before the military court.

A different ending for the co-accused

Their fate had already been foreshadowed by what happened to 19 of their co-accused.

In November 2024, President Museveni pardoned 19 people after they pleaded guilty before the General Court Martial.

The 19 had been convicted and sentenced by a seven-member panel then chaired by Brig. Robert Freeman Mugabe before receiving the presidential pardon.

For the nine who remained behind, however, there was no immediate equivalent resolution.

Their continued detention meant that a case involving a much larger group of opposition supporters gradually produced different outcomes for different defendants: conviction and pardon for some, prolonged detention and contested proceedings for others.

Friday’s proceedings changed that.

The amnesty route

The nine ultimately applied for amnesty through the Amnesty Commission.

According to the proceedings, they acknowledged participating in the rebellion and renounced involvement in armed activities, paving the way for their applications under the Amnesty Act.

Once the State indicated that it would not oppose the applications, the path to release became clear.

The court ordered their transfer to the Amnesty Commission.

The next phase will therefore take place outside the military courtroom.

They are expected to undergo rehabilitation, counselling and reintegration before returning to their families and communities.

The beneficiaries are Yasin Ssekitoleko, also known as “Machete,” 31; Patrick Mwase, 27; Sharif Kalanzi, 48; Joseph Muwonge, 33; Abdalla Kintu, 38; Emma Umar Kato, 30; Musa Kavuma, 26; Jimmy Galukande, 26; and Abdallah Hakim Gibusiwa, 26.

They were represented by Major Simon Busagwa.

What the amnesty means — and what it does not

The court’s decision provides the nine with a route out of years of military custody, but it should not be confused with a determination that the prosecution’s allegations were proven false.

Nor does the amnesty amount to an ordinary acquittal following a full trial.

Instead, the nine have entered the statutory amnesty process after renouncing armed rebellion, with the Amnesty Commission now responsible for their rehabilitation and reintegration.

That distinction matters because the case has always existed at the intersection of criminal justice, national security and Uganda’s deeply contested political environment.

For the State, the allegations involved serious threats to national security.

For NUP and the accused, the case has been part of a broader pattern in which opposition supporters were arrested and prosecuted following the 2021 elections.

Friday’s decision does not erase that disagreement.

It does, however, remove nine names from the list of NUP supporters whose freedom remained tied up in a military courtroom years after the election that triggered the wider crackdown.

A long-awaited return home

The final destination for the nine is no longer the General Court Martial.

It is home.

Before they get there, the Amnesty Commission will take them through rehabilitation, counselling and reintegration.

After years defined by arrest, military detention, court appearances and allegations of rebellion, the next stage of their lives will be governed by a different vocabulary — recovery, reintegration and return.

For families who have waited through years of uncertainty, Friday’s decision offers something that repeated court appearances could not: a clear path towards having their relatives back in their communities.

And for Uganda’s opposition politics, the release adds another chapter to the unresolved legacy of the 2021 election period — a period in which dozens of NUP supporters found themselves facing military prosecution, with some convicted, some pardoned, others released through different legal processes, and some remaining in detention for years.

The nine now join those who have finally walked out.