By Our Reporter
Five individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities have been committed to the International Crimes Division (ICD) of the High Court, where they will face trial on multiple charges, including terrorism and aggravated child trafficking.
The accused—Twaha Kasaijja, Ismail Kisambu, Muhammed Nabanji, Sadat Nsubuga, and Twaha Mutebi—appeared before Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi at Buganda Road Court on Thursday. The magistrate committed them to the High Court after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) determined there was sufficient evidence for prosecution.
According to an indictment signed by Assistant DPP Lino Anguzu, the suspects are charged with membership in a terrorist organization, providing support to a terrorist group, and seven counts of aggravated child trafficking.
The offenses are alleged to have taken place between 2010 and 2023. Prosecutors claim that the suspects recruited and transported seven children to a notorious terrorist group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
It is alleged that the accused used manipulation, abuse of power, and deceit to recruit minors under the age of 18 for forced labor, sexual exploitation, and involvement in armed conflict.
The indictment states: “Each of the accused persons, through fraud, abuse of authority, deception, or exploitation of vulnerability, was involved in the recruitment, transportation, or receipt of children under 18 years for purposes of forced labor, sexual exploitation, forced child marriage, use in armed conflict, or involvement in illegal activities.”
Prosecution intends to rely on various pieces of evidence, including mobile phone records, forensic reports, and witness testimonies, to substantiate the allegations. The investigation into the case reportedly began in 2023 when law enforcement received intelligence indicating that several residents of Lower and Upper Konge Zone in Kampala’s Makindye Division had suddenly sold their properties and vanished.
One such case involved Abdurahaman Ssemanda, who sold his butcher shop to Badiru Mwanje for Shs 23 million before mysteriously disappearing. Police investigations later led to the arrest of Twaha Kasaijja, who reportedly admitted to transporting ADF recruits and supplies from Kampala to the Mpondwe border in Kasese District.
Further examination of Kasaijja’s mobile phone records allegedly revealed communication with other suspects, including Muhammad Nabanji. During questioning, Nabanji reportedly confessed to taking three of his children—aged 6, 8, and 10—to ADF camps in the DRC in 2011.
One of these children was eventually rescued and repatriated to Uganda by the Uganda Red Cross Society, while others were recovered from Iganga District. Some, however, remain unaccounted for.
The five accused individuals have been remanded to Luzira Prison as they await their trial in the High Court. It is common for accused persons to remain in detention for an extended period after being committed to the High Court before their cases are heard.
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