Ethiopian Journal

Three foreign terror suspects were charged by a Ugandan court on Friday with murder, attempted murder and terrorism in connection with the suicide bomb attacks that killed 79 people in the Ugandan capital, Kampala earlier this month.

The trio, all Kenyan citizens, were the first suspects under trial since the attacks believed to be carried out by suicide bombers ripped through huge crowd at a rugby club and a restaurant on July 11 in Kampala suburbs.

The suspects, Mohamed Adan Abdow, 25, Idris Magondu alias Christopher Magondu, 42, and Hussein Hassan Agadi, 27, with several alias, were each charged with 79 counts of murder, three of terrorism and 10 counts of attempted murder by the Nakawa chief magistrate court in a suburb east of Kampala.

The prosecution led by Joan Kagezi, the senior principal state attorney, and Charles Kaomuli, principal state attorney, alleges that on July 11, the trio each killed 61 people at Kyandodo Rugby Club in a suburb east of Kampala and 18 at Ethiopian Village restaurant, south of Kampala.

The prosecution also alleges that on the same day, the trio committed three counts of terrorism at Kyandodo, Ethiopian restaurant and a discotheque in Makindye, south of Kampala. The third attack was somehow aborted, according to the police.

The suspects were not allowed to enter into plea after the Nakawa chief magistrate, Deus Ssejjemba, read the charges and remanded them to Luzira Maximum government prison until the next hearing scheduled for Aug. 27.

"I can't allow you to take plea because my court lacks jurisdiction," said Ssejjemba at the packed court.

The police immediately handcuffed the trio and whisked them onto three waiting police pick-up trucks and drove away amidst tight security.

Ugandan police and security agencies arrested dozens of suspects across the country after the attacks claimed by the Somali militant group, al Shabaab, which threatened several times to attack Uganda and Burundi in retaliation for their deployment of peacekeeping troops in Somalia under the African Union (AU).

Several Ethiopians and Pakistanis were among the arrested suspects, of whom some were released later after being questioned. The Kenyan government also handed over several suspects believed to have links with al Shabaab to Uganda for interrogation.

Ugandan police also publicized reconstructed photos of two suspected suicide bombers, one of them appearing to be Somali descent, with hope to gather more information from the public.

During the just concluded 15th AU summit held here from Sunday to Tuesday, AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping announced that the regional body is aimed at mobilizing additional 4,000 troops to boost the current 6,100 strong AU peacekeeping force in Somalia.

Guinea is already finalizing the deployment of a battalion while Djibouti, a member of the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) consisting of seven member states, including Somalia, in eastern Africa, is considering contributing another battalion.

Some countries with capacity of deployment like South Africa and Nigeria have not made clear their position on involvement in Somali peacekeeping mission as the Somali defense minister and security experts are recommending a two to five times stronger force in the troubled Horn of Africa country.