Two Former State Informers Sentenced to Death Over Staged Bomb Attacks

The General Court Martial sitting in Makindye has handed down a death sentence to two former Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) members who later operated as state informers. Hamza Lyavaala and Adil Walusansa were condemned for the premeditated murders of two women in separate staged bomb incidents tied to the 2025 Martyrs Day celebrations.

Presiding over the court, Brig Richard Tukacungurwa stated that the crimes involved extreme cruelty, deep planning, and the exploitation of vulnerable victims. Prosecution evidence revealed that the convicts recruited the victims from Busoga, housed them, and provided them with explosive devices under the guise of suicide missions.

The first victim, Sumayiya Byaruhanga, died on June 3, 2025, when an explosive device detonated at the Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine. The second victim, Sawiya Azuta, was intercepted by Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce operatives at Kalerwe on June 21, 2025, and shot dead during the operation.

During mitigation, defence lawyers Frank Kanduho and Maj Simon Busagwa requested lighter sentences. They cited the convicts’ guilty pleas, remorse, family responsibilities, and past counter-terrorism contributions. However, the court ruled that the gravity of the offences and the deliberate nature of the planning outweighed the mitigating factors.

While the court acknowledged that the guilty pleas saved judicial time, Brig Tukacungurwa emphasized that the punishment must serve justice and protect the public from such severe threats. The convicts were informed of their right to appeal. A co-accused in the matter, former military intelligence commander Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga, faces a separate trial.

Read more details on the The Observer (Uganda).