The court of appeal has set free former leader of the Tabliq Muslim sect Sheik Muhammad Yunus Kamoga who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for uttering statements that resulted in the death of two Muslim clerics Mustafa Bahiga and Hassan Kirya in 2014.
This is after three justices of the court led by the newly appointed chief justice Alfonse Owiny Dollo reversed the decision of the high court’s international crimes division in which sheik Kamoga and five other sheiks were convicted of verbal terrorism.
According to the court of appeal justices, the six sheiks were wrongfully convicted of terrorism since there is no evidence that the words they spoke contained messages that were inciting the public to attack or murder sheiks Bahiga and Kirya.
Instead the justices have explained that even though sheik kamoga and his group had verbal fights with the deceased sheiks, their message to fellow Muslim believers was to shun Bahiga, Kirya Muhamood Kibate and others for merely religious reasons.
While also setting aside the life in prison sentence against the six sheiks, the court of appeal justices have ruled that the ingredients of the offence of terrorism including committing an indiscriminate act that affects the safety of others have not been proved.
The other sheiks are siraj kawoya, Yusuf Kakande, Mustafah Bukenya, Abdul Salam Sekayanja and Fahad Kalungi.
There were emotional scenes at court as the suspects lawyers and relatives broke down in tears after the judgement was read by the court registrar mary babirye in the absence of the accused.
Counter terrorism operatives had ceiled off the court premises causing tension at the court.
In 2017, three judges of the international crimes division including Ezekiel Muhanguzi, Jane Kigundu and Persey Tuhaise found the clerics guilty of terrorism and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
They were arrested in 2015 following the murder of sheik mustafa Bahiga on the 29th of December 2014.
