The General Court Martial in Makindye, Uganda, has convicted Hamza Lyavara, a former state intelligence source, of feeding security agencies false information. Lyavara was accused of providing intelligence that led President Yoweri Museveni to announce the killing of senior Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) commander Meddie Nkalubo. Lyavara was convicted alongside fellow former informer Adiil Walusansa over murders arising from two controversial security operations in Kampala in June 2025.
The military court heard that Lyavara and Walusansa supplied security agencies with false intelligence about purported terrorist attacks. According to the prosecution, the two men were themselves involved in the plot and in bringing the explosives used in the operations. The incidents included an operation near the Catholic Shrine in Munyonyo during the June 3, 2025 Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations and another near Kalerwe Market later that month.
Lyavara had previously operated as an intelligence source with claimed access to ADF networks. He gained the confidence of his handlers by providing pieces of information that could be independently verified. However, investigators later concluded that he mixed genuine intelligence with fabricated information, allowing him to influence security operations while allegedly maintaining clandestine links with Nkalubo.
The most consequential episode came in 2023 when military intelligence reported that Nkalubo, also known as The Punisher, had been killed in UPDF air strikes against ADF positions in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Then military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. James Birungi reported Nkalubo’s purported death to Museveni, who later announced it in a televised address. However, Nkalubo subsequently resurfaced in intelligence reporting, prompting questions over how Uganda’s military establishment had wrongly concluded that one of its most wanted adversaries was dead.
The discovery of Lyavara's deception helped trigger a broader investigation into military intelligence operations ordered by Chief of Defence Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. A Board of Inquiry chaired by Deputy Chief of Defence Forces Lt. Gen. Sam Okiding investigated allegations of fabricated terror alerts, falsified intelligence briefings, and questionable counter-terrorism operations.
The investigation eventually widened to senior officers, including Birungi, former Director of Counter-Terrorism Col. Peter Ahimbisibwe, and former Director of Special Operations Lt. Col. Ephraim Byaruhanga. Birungi was arrested in August 2025 and has since been charged before the General Court Martial with treachery and offences relating to security.
The convictions of Lyavara and Walusansa could prove significant in the continuing trials of the military officers who handled the intelligence. Prosecutors seek to establish how false reports passed through the intelligence chain and reached the country’s highest decision-makers. The allegations against Birungi, Byaruhanga, and the other officers remain unproven, and they are presumed innocent unless convicted by a competent court.
Key points
- The General Court Martial in Makindye convicted Hamza Lyavara and Adiil Walusansa for their roles in feeding security agencies false intelligence.
- The convictions are part of a wider investigation into military intelligence operations and the handling of intelligence on ADF operations.
- The case has led to the arrest and charging of senior military officers, including Maj. Gen. James Birungi.
