32 Kenyans held by Ugandan military welcomed back home
A Ugandan military court punished them last year for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The Turkana County Government has received 32 young men who had been indicted for 20 years in Ugandan prisons for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
The Kenyans were apprehended after they were found with 28 submachine guns and 801 bullets in the northeastern Ugandan district of Moroto and were sentenced last April.
Related Stories
They were tried under Ugandan law, specifically Section 119 of the Uganda People's Defence Forces Act, which subjects individuals found with weapons, ammunition, or equipment monopolised by the armed forces to military law and trial by a court martial.
The group was released last week after the General Court Martial (GCM) overturned an earlier ruling by a lower court, citing procedural irregularities during the trial.
The GCM found that seven of the accused were minors, aged below 18, who should not have been tried by a military court.
At their welcome event in Urum village, Lokiriama/Lorengkippi Ward, on Sunday, the group was received by Ugandan leaders and county officials led by Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai.
"Diverse efforts were put in to actualise their release. I particularly want to recognise the abundant goodwill of the presidents of Kenya and Uganda towards this end," the governor said.
"This would not have been possible, even legally, without their support," he said amid calls by spiritual leaders for the men to undergo cleansing.
The governor further called for honesty in the mitigation of conflicts in light of constant cross-border tensions between Turkana residents and the people of Karamajong.
Loima MP Protus Akujah urged locals crossing into Uganda to respect the country's regulations and discouraged intercommunal raids.
Ugandan leaders, led by Kotido MP Abraham Loki Lokopirmore, called for peaceful coexistence among the Turkana and Karamoja.
"Borders are inconsequential since we all fall under the Ateker umbrella. All that matters is coexisting peacefully," he said.
Top Topics This Week
Donkeys
donkey transport
ethiopia donkeys
sudan donkeys
drug abuse mombasa
mombasa drug abuse
rehabilitation centres
raila odinga AUC
kenya AUC candidate
AUC chair candidates
djibouti AUC candidate
raila AUC
AUC chair post
AUC
AUC chair
Gikomba Market
flash floods kenya
heavy rains kenya
marikiti
safaricom internet outage
Trending
Garissa set to host Northern Frontier's first industrial park as state releases funding
Barack Oduor
|
2 days ago
Mombasa and Embu counties agree to regulate sale of muguka and miraa to minors
Farhiya Hussein
|
1 day ago
Learners report back to school across the country after floods delay
Eastleigh Voice Team
|
3 days ago
Floods bring blessing for youth harvesting metals from Nairobi River for resale
Abdirahman Khalif
|
1 week ago
EGYPT-UN-PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT-BORDER-AID
Dennis Tarus
|
6 months ago