A military court in Uganda handed prison sentences to two soldiers for killing three persons in operations to quell riots that rocked Kampala in November 2020.

The Uganda People's Defense Force First Division court sentenced Augustine Mugisha, a Lance Corporal, to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty for killing two people in Nansana Municipality.

The second convict, Local Defence Unit member Mustafa Ssali was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the killing of one person.

According to the Uganda-based newspaper, The Monitor, the trial, conviction and sentencing of the accused was conducted behind closed doors, with both convicts given up to 14 days each to appeal the verdicts.

Dozens of people were killed in the riots as security forces sought to quell protests triggered by the arrest of presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, alias Bobi Wine, the leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party.