Lt Col Byaruhanga Asked Us to Plan and Execute Fake Bomb Plots at Munyonyo and Kalerwe, WitnessTells Army Court

What the report says

A witness has told Uganda’s General Court Martial in Makindye that Lt Col Ephraim Byaruhanga allegedly directed the planning of two bomb-related operations in Kampala, at Munyonyo Martyrs Basilica and Kalerwe Market, in 2025. The claims were reported by Nile Post and were made by Hamza Lyavala, a former ADF member who later became a security informer.

Lyavala testified that Byaruhanga, formerly a special operations director in the Directorate of Intelligence and Security, recruited him and another former informant, Hadil Walusansa, to help carry out the alleged plans. He said the purpose, as described to him, was to draw attention from superiors and demonstrate the officer’s value after disagreements within the intelligence hierarchy. Byaruhanga has denied the charges.

According to the testimony, the alleged planning involved meetings, the transfer of improvised explosive devices, and coordination with other suspected ADF-linked figures. Lyavala also said the Munyonyo operation was set for June 3, 2025, during Martyrs Day commemorations, while a second plan later shifted toward Kalerwe Market. The article says two former security informers were convicted in connection with the incidents after pleading guilty.

If proven, the allegations would deepen scrutiny of how security informers and intelligence handlers interacted with militant networks and of the handling of terror-related cases in Uganda.