Drama in Court Martial as convicted informer alleges plan to frame Gen Birungi in staged bomb murders
During a court-martial in Uganda, a convicted informer testified that military intelligence officers pressured him to falsely implicate Maj. Gen. James Birungi in a murder plot. The witness alleged that his interrogators destroyed his initial statement because it failed to include fabricated claims against the former intelligence chief.
Why it matters
The testimony raises serious allegations of corruption and political framing within military intelligence structures, potentially impacting high-level military leadership.
Hamza Lwavaala appears in the witness stand during proceedings at the General Court Martial in Makindye, Kampala on October 12, 2026. PHOTO/ ABUBAKER LUBOWA
A convicted military informer testifying before the General Court Martial in Makindye has accused a senior military intelligence officer of forcing him to falsely implicate former intelligence chief Maj. Gen. James Birungi in an alleged murder plot.
Hamza Lyavaala, one of two former informers who recently pleaded guilty to the murder of two women linked to alleged staged bomb attacks in Munyonyo and Kalerwe in 2025, made the allegations while testifying as a state witness against his co-accused, Lt. Col. Ephraim Byaruhanga.
During cross-examination by Lt. Col. Byaruhanga’s defense counsel, Frank Kanduho, Lyavaala told the court that Brig. Gen. Abdul Rugumayo, who interrogated him at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), rejected his initial statement because it omitted allegations against Maj. Gen. Birungi.
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