The Kajjansi Magistrates Court has sentenced 20 National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters to 72 hours of community service after they pleaded guilty to charges of being a common nuisance.
The group was arrested following clashes at the burial of former Busiro South MP Charles Matovu in Kungu-Lutale, Wakiso District, on October 25, 2026.
According to NUP head of legal affairs, Jonathan Elotu, the supporters were sentenced on Friday, November 13, after entering guilty pleas.
Elotu, however, questioned the circumstances surrounding the pleas, claiming that the accused had been left with limited options because the Chief Magistrate and state attorneys had repeatedly failed to appear during previous court sessions.
He said the supporters had been arrested while travelling on boda bodas and in taxis after attending Matovu’s burial.
The arrests followed an incident involving Kibuku County MP Herbert Kinobere, who police said was attacked by a group of mourners opposed to the presence of supporters of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said the group allegedly attacked Kinobere and other mourners, damaged the legislator’s vehicle and deflated its tyres. Police subsequently arrested 20 suspects to assist with investigations.
The arrests attracted criticism from members of Matovu’s family and NUP leaders, who called for the supporters’ release.
Gomba East MP Godfrey Saazi, who is related to the deceased, criticised the events surrounding the burial, while the group’s lawyer, Francis Jjemba, raised concerns about the arrest of a Senior Two student, George William Gyagenda, among those detained.
The court’s decision brings the case against the 20 supporters to a close through the community service sentence, following their guilty pleas.
