A former ADF recruit told the General Court Martial that Brigadier General Abdul Rugumayo pressured him to implicate detained General James Birungi in alleged staged Kampala bomb attacks and a Shs10 million financing claim.
Former ADF recruit and convicted murder suspect Hamza Lyavala has accused former Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence (CMI) Brigadier General Abdul Rugumayo of torturing him and attempting to coerce him into implicating detained General James Birungi in alleged staged bomb attacks in Kampala.
Testifying against his co-accused, Lieutenant Colonel Ephraim Byaruhanga, before the General Court Martial in Makindye, Lyavala claimed Rugumayo wanted him to falsely state that Birungi had met him after handing over his office to Major General Richard Otto and provided Shs10 million to finance the alleged bomb missions.
Lyavala told the court that he refused to make the allegations because they were untrue, prompting Rugumayo to tear up his initial statement and demand that he record another.
The allegations emerged during cross-examination by defence lawyer Frank Kanduho, as Lyavala recounted his interrogation at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence in Mbuya. He said several intelligence officers questioned him over three days in June 2025.
“I was being interrogated by Gen Rugumayo. He was very harsh on my side. He tore my first statement and later I wrote down another one,” Lyavala testified.
The witness said he was arrested on June 21, 2025, and recorded his first statement the following day. He subsequently recorded further statements on June 27 and June 29, with the final account running to 69 pages.
He identified Brigadier General Rugumayo, Major Habyarimana and Major Ssekajja among the officers present during the statement-taking process, adding that Major Okumu appeared on the final day.
According to Lyavala, Rugumayo was dissatisfied with his initial account because it did not implicate Birungi in the alleged bomb operations.
“He tore the first one because he didn't find it satisfactory to his interests, but those were the facts I knew,” he told the court.
Lyavala further alleged that Rugumayo supplied him with specific words and phrases intended to implicate Birungi in the alleged conspiracy.
“He wanted me to implicate General Birungi, which I didn't. He even gave me words and phrases to falsely accuse General Birungi,” he said.
The witness also disputed the allegation that Birungi had given the group Shs10 million to facilitate the attacks.
“He wanted me to tell the committee that Gen Birungi sent us Shs10 million to facilitate the fake bomb missions, yet it was not true,” Lyavala testified.
He claimed that after he declined to include the allegations, Rugumayo ordered him to destroy the statement and prepare another version.
The allegations against Rugumayo remain claims made by the witness and have not been established by the evidence presented in court.
Beyond his accusations against Rugumayo, Lyavala recounted how he moved from membership in the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) to working as a government informer before becoming involved in events surrounding the Munyonyo and Kalerwe bomb incidents.
He said he joined the ADF around 2022 before associating with the Pan Ugandan Liberation Initiative (PULI), a breakaway faction comprising members opposed to the ADF's links with the Islamic State.
According to Lyavala, members of the rival factions approached him for assistance because he was educated and had begun practising Islam.
He testified that PULI members manufactured 15 explosive devices and that Isaac Thomas, a son of former ADF leader Jamilu Mukulu, instructed them to identify potential targets.
Concerned about the group's activities, Lyavala said he sought to surrender to the authorities. Through his guardian, Twaliha Batambuze, he was connected to Kampala Minister Hajjat Minsa Kabanda, who subsequently took him to the then-CMI commander, Abel Kandiho.
Lyavala told the court that Kandiho and Kabanda later took him to meet President Yoweri Museveni, where he confessed to his activities and provided information about the ADF.
He said Museveni forgave him and directed him to continue working with Kandiho as an informer.
The witness claimed that his intelligence subsequently contributed to operations in which four groups were arrested and several weapons recovered, including a PK machine gun, seven pistols and two AK-47 rifles.