KAMPALA: A Ugandan military tribunal Monday convicted 16 members of an opposition party of “illegal possession of explosive devices and treachery,” according to a defense lawyer, who said the proceedings were suspect.
The prosecution alleged that the 16 members of the National Unity Platform, as well as others still on the run, were found in possession of explosives between November 2020 and May 2021, while elections were underway.
“Circumstances surrounding their plea of guilty to the charges they had denied previously was questionable,” Shamim Malende, a defense lawyer, told AFP.
Former singer and opposition figure Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, claimed the group had been forced to plead guilty and seek a presidential pardon.
Journalists were barred from attending the session.
The 16 have spent four years in jail, and will appear in court Wednesday for their sentencing.
Uganda has been ruled since 1986 by Yoweri Museveni.
The last presidential elections in 2021 were marred by fraud, and demonstrations against yet another arrest of Bobi Wine were violently repressed by the police, resulting in at least 54 dead.
“Whatever Museveni’s government is doing, one day all those under him including himself will be called to account,” Bobi Wine told AFP, saying the accused had been “blackmailed by state agents.”
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Uganda condemns 16 opposition members for ‘treachery’
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Uganda condemns 16 opposition members for ‘treachery’
Five miners trapped deep underground after mudslide hits South African diamond mine
- The miners have been trapped since the early hours of Tuesday, according to a labor alliance
- The mine is in the central city of Kimberley, which is renowned for its diamond mines
JOHANNESBURG: Five miners were trapped deep underground at a South African diamond mine after a mudslide flooded a shaft they were working in, mine officials and a labor union said Thursday.
The miners have been trapped since the early hours of Tuesday, according to the Congress of South African Trade Unions — an alliance of labor unions that includes the main mineworkers union. The congress said the miners were thought to be trapped around 800 meters (half a mile) underground.
Ekapa Mining General Manager Howard Marsden, whose company operates the mine, told national broadcaster SABC on Wednesday that rescuers were pumping water out of the shaft while a separate team was trying to drill a hole to where the miners were believed to be trapped to try to establish communication with them “or any proof of life.”
The mine is in the central city of Kimberley, which is renowned for its diamond mines and was at the heart of the global industry after diamonds were discovered in the area in the late 1800s.
The Minerals Council of South Africa said this month in its annual safety report that 41 miners died in mining accidents in South Africa last year, a record low and down from hundreds a year in the 1990s and early 2000s.
South Africa is among the world’s biggest producers of diamonds and gold, and the top producer of platinum.
The miners have been trapped since the early hours of Tuesday, according to the Congress of South African Trade Unions — an alliance of labor unions that includes the main mineworkers union. The congress said the miners were thought to be trapped around 800 meters (half a mile) underground.
Ekapa Mining General Manager Howard Marsden, whose company operates the mine, told national broadcaster SABC on Wednesday that rescuers were pumping water out of the shaft while a separate team was trying to drill a hole to where the miners were believed to be trapped to try to establish communication with them “or any proof of life.”
The mine is in the central city of Kimberley, which is renowned for its diamond mines and was at the heart of the global industry after diamonds were discovered in the area in the late 1800s.
The Minerals Council of South Africa said this month in its annual safety report that 41 miners died in mining accidents in South Africa last year, a record low and down from hundreds a year in the 1990s and early 2000s.
South Africa is among the world’s biggest producers of diamonds and gold, and the top producer of platinum.
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