Top ADF Commander To Serve 14 Years In Prison

Posted by: Kyeyune Andrew Jonathan in Uganda news August 4, 2022

Two people, one of whom is a top ADF Commander, have been sentenced to 14 years in prison by the International Crimes Division of the High Court in Kampala.

The Commander willingly admitted to being part of a rebel and terrorist group.

Ibrahim Ssemwanga and Aisha Nalweyiso are the two facing the sentencing that passed on Tuesday. They pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting terrorism as well as belonging to ADF, a terrorist organization.

Ssemwanga became part of the ADF in 1999 and received training in warfare. He however assisted in carrying out ambushes inside the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With time, he made his way up the ranks and saw himself becoming one of the top commanders in the group. He became a deputy commander for one of the battalions in the rebel cum terrorist group by the time of his arrest in 2017.

In the military setting, a battalion consisting of 300 to 1,000 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel. In other armies, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations.

Court accused Ssemwanga

This, therefore, makes Ssemwanga a top ADF commander and senior person in the ADF ranks. He always reported to Musa Baluku, believed to be the top-ranking ADF leader.

The court also accused Ssemwanga of recruiting for the rebel group from Uganda and delivering ammunition to ADF operatives in Uganda. In 2009, he recruited his young relative Aisha Nalweyiso into the group who later saw her way to DRC.

While there she learnt how to assemble and disassemble several types of guns on top of firing them.

During the trial, the prosecution led by Chief State Attorney Lillian Omara and Senior State Attorney Jacquelyn Okwii lined up seven witnesses to pin the duo. However, the two chose to plead guilty to the charges amassed against them.

They eventually got 14 years imprisonment for aiding and abetting terrorism as well as four years imprisonment for belonging to a terrorist organization.

Justice Kabanda however said the sentences would run concurrently.

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