Militia commander in Uganda remanded over tourist murders

By: AFP
Published: 05:37 AM, 28 Nov, 2023
Militia commander in Uganda remanded over tourist murders
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An alleged commander in a feared Islamist group appeared in a Ugandan court amid tight security on Monday charged with terrorism and murder over the killing of two foreign tourists and their local driver.

A Kampala magistrate's court ordered Abdul Rashid Kyoto, a Ugandan national also known as Njovu or Tembo, to be detained in the country's maximum security prison until December 19.

Ugandan authorities say Kyoto, 31, is the leader of a unit of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia based in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo that is accused of killing the honeymooning tourists last month.

"Police inquiries in the matter are not yet concluded. We seek adjournment to let police conclude its investigations and have the suspect committed to the high court to stand trial," state prosecutor Mariam Kuluthum told the court.

Kyoto appeared in court on crutches, after he sustained injuries during a military operation at the end of last month that led to his capture.

A British national and his South African wife were murdered along with their Ugandan guide in the October 17 while on safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park in the west of the country.

The Islamic State group -- to which the ADF has pledged allegiance -- claimed responsibility, saying it had killed "three Christian tourists".

Ugandan authorities have blamed the ADF for several attacks on its soil including the tourist killings and a horrific school massacre near the DRC border that cost the lives of 42 people, most of them students.

The ADF is the deadliest of dozens of armed groups that plague troubled eastern DRC, accused of slaughtering thousands of civilians there, as well as carrying out cross-border attacks.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has called on the security forces to ensure the ADF was "wiped out" and the military has carried out a number of air strikes against its positions in the DRC.

The ADF is historically a Ugandan rebel coalition whose biggest group comprised Muslims opposed to Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with an iron fist since 1986.

Categories : Crime