Uganda Hands Down 10-Year Terrorism Sentence Over Attacks on Power Lines

Attacks that cut power across Central Uganda and forced authorities to bring in emergency electricity generation have ended in a 10-year prison sentence for one of the men behind them. Ibrah Muwonge, also known as Ibrah Kimbowa, pleaded guilty in a case that put the economic cost of destroying power infrastructure at the centre of a terrorism prosecution, according to Nile Post Uganda (direct).

The International Crimes Division of Uganda’s High Court convicted Muwonge on October 6, 2026, of two terrorism counts and one count of terrorism financing after a plea bargain with prosecutors. Justice Andrew Bashaija imposed 10 years for the terrorism offences and five years for financing them. Those terms will run at the same time, rather than adding up to 15 years. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) described it as Uganda’s first terrorism conviction involving the deliberate destruction of electricity transmission infrastructure.

Damage that spread beyond the grid

The case concerned attacks carried out in November and December 2022. Prosecutors said 14 high-voltage pylons and poles—the structures supporting lines that carry electricity over long distances—were cut or destroyed. The affected routes were Owen Falls–Lugogo, Bujagali–Kawanda, Owen Falls–Namanve and Kawanda–Kapeka. The destruction struck several parts of the network, interrupting electricity supply and the services that depended on it.

According to the prosecution, the resulting outages disrupted water supplies, health care, industrial activity, communications, financial services and education. Prosecutors also reported significant economic losses, without giving a monetary figure. Authorities had to deploy an emergency thermal power plant at Namanve to supplement supply to the Kampala metropolitan area. That response underlined how damage to transmission lines could create problems well beyond the sites of the attacks.

Recruitment, financing and the sentence

Investigators described Muwonge as a leader of the Uganda Defence Forces, a subversive group they linked to the Allied Democratic Forces. Prosecutors said he recruited and mobilised young people through a WhatsApp group and coordinated the infrastructure attacks. They described a broader plan to undermine government programmes, disrupt economic and social activity and help bring about the government’s overthrow. He was also accused of supplying money for equipment, transport and payments to those carrying out the destruction.

Evidence taken from mobile phones included photographs, videos, audio recordings and messages. Prosecutors said the material connected Muwonge to the planning, funding and execution of the attacks. About eight prosecution witnesses had testified before he chose a plea bargain. Chief State Attorney Jacquelyn Okui handled the prosecution for the ODPP.

In sentencing, the court weighed the planned and serious nature of the offences, gang involvement, Muwonge’s alleged leading role and the damage and losses caused. It also considered deterrence. His guilty plea, remorse, responsibilities as a father and breadwinner, and the absence of deaths counted in mitigation. Nile Post also recalled a warning issued last year by police investigations chief AIGP Tom Magambo:

“Let those sabotaging our electricity infrastructure be warned, jail awaits you, and the consequences will be severe.”

The focus now is the deterrent message of the ruling. The ODPP said the conviction reflected Uganda’s resolve to prosecute people who fund, enable or carry out terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure. For businesses and essential services exposed to power disruptions, enforcement against those networks is the issue to watch.