A total of 17 people have been remanded to Luzira on terrorism charges after being arrested over electricity infrastructure vandalism.
The 17 including Joseph Ssemanda , Emmanuel Kato, Yasin Mutyaba, Arafat Kakerewe,Josephat Muhumuza, Yusuf Abdul Razak, Pius Habasa,Pius Kyarisiima, Gerald Ampumuza, Fredrick Otieno, Robert Nirere, Ayub Badda, Yasin Mutebi, John Muyingo, Juma Mutabazi , Ssezario Tumwekwatse and Deo James Kawalya were on Wednesday afternoon arraigned before the Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court and charges related to terrorism, contrary to section 6 (1) (b) and (3) (n) of the Anti Terrorism Act 2002 read for them.
The state alleges that the group and others still at large between 2022 and May 2025 in various areas of Kampala Metropolitan Area, Luweero, Nakasongola, Mityana, Kiboga and Mubende, for purposes of influencing government or intimidating the public for political, social and economic aim indiscriminately and without due regard to safety of others or property, interfered with the electricity network leading to disruption of provision of electricity to Luweero Industries and Nakasongola Military Hospital among other places.
The group was however not allowed to either deny or admit the charges since they are capital in nature and can only be tried by the High Court.
The state prosecutor, Martin Odong told court that investigations into the matter are still ongoing and asked for an adjournment.
Grade One Magistrate, Andrew Katurubuki adjourned the matter to July, 17, for mention of the case.
Speaking after the case, UEDCL spokesperson, Jonan Kiiza said the development followed an operation by the power distributor, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Uganda Police, the Defence Intelligence and Security (DIS), formerly CMI and the UPDF against suspects involved in power theft and vandalism especially in Bombo, Mityana, Masaka and Mukono, that paralysed businesses and social life.
"The public should note that the recent incidents of outages across the country were because of various acts of vandalism. The public also needs to be aware that power theft and vandalism are economic crimes punishable by prolonged jail terms or hefty fines if proven guilty," Kiiza said.
Under the Electricity (Amendment) Act 2022, power thieves and vandals face up to 15 years in jail or pay up to shs2 billion in fines or both.
UEDCL and sector operators, including the telecommunications companies and road agencies incur costs running up to billions of shillings annually in the replacement of vandalised infrastructure.
Kiiza explained that acts of power theft and vandalism cause prolonged blackouts, threaten the security of our homes, increase the cost of doing business, and disrupt vital services in hospitals, security, and schools
"The money we are spending on repairing and replacing vandalised equipment could have been invested in creating greater customer experience and boosting government access agenda," he said.
"This is frustrating and bogging down our efforts to refurbish the network for reliable supply."
According to Kiiza, vandalism and power theft activities directly impact on electricity supply reliability, the tariffs and more importantly the safety of the public and even those involved in this heinous vice
"The truth is, you cannot have a reliable and safe power supply or lower tariffs when your neighbours are stealing power and vandalising the distribution infrastructure," he noted.
Kiiza rallied the public to be on the lookout for suspicious activities on the electricity installations in their neighbourhoods.
"Electrical installations are a public asset. Therefore, it is everybody's responsibility to watch over them in our neighbourhoods. Power theft and vandalism do not only affect UEDCL, but all of us whose livelihoods and lifestyles depend on electricity every day."