Men sentenced over plot to kill Gen Kale Kayihura in 2016

BY URN

KAMPALA. The High Court has handed down an eight-year prison sentence to four individuals for conspiring to assassinate former Inspector General of Police Edward Kale Kayihura and Namayingo district police commander Maj Francis Okumu.

Sadam Okuku Umalu, Colline Osinya, Joseph Ojambo, and Abudala Lwanga were convicted on Friday by Justice Dr. Andrew Bashaija, as part of a plea deal brokered between the suspects and Chief State Attorney Joseph Kyomuhendo.

According to court proceedings, between May and June 2016, the convicts stole two AK-47 rifles along with 60 rounds of live ammunition from Nakudi police post in Namayingo district.

Following a reported gunshot at a residence in Sirowa Village, Namayingo, the police launched an operation resulting in the arrest of Okuku and his associates.

During interrogation, they admitted to stealing the firearms for robbery purposes and to eliminate individuals deemed as obstacles to the Tabliq sect’s mission, which included Kayihura, Okumu, and the Resident District Commissioner (RDC). They also confessed to a prior gun theft from a police officer in 2015, subsequently using it in multiple robbery attempts.

The judge upheld their plea deal, imposing an eight-year sentence for each offense to be served concurrently.