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Uganda Sentences 2 For Al-Shabab Bombings


Rwandan citizen Muhamoud Mugisha, right, and his co-accused Ugandan Edris Nsubuga, left, leave the Kampala High Court after their judgment, in Kampala, Uganda, Sept.16, 2011.
Rwandan citizen Muhamoud Mugisha, right, and his co-accused Ugandan Edris Nsubuga, left, leave the Kampala High Court after their judgment, in Kampala, Uganda, Sept.16, 2011.

A Ugandan judge has sentenced two men for their part in twin bombings that killed at least 76 people in Kampala last year.

The Somali insurgent group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings, which targeted people who had gathered to watch the 2010 World Cup final in July 2010.

On Friday, the judge sentenced Edris Nsubuga to 25 years in prison on terrorism charges. He was spared the death penalty after entering a guilty plea earlier this week.

Muhamoud Mugisha, who also pleaded guilty, received a five-year sentence for conspiracy to commit terrorism.

Prosecutors have said they will call both men to testify in the upcoming trials of 12 other suspects in the Kampala bombings.

Al-Shabab said the attack was revenge against Uganda, for the Kampala government's role in the African Union peacekeeping force backing the Somali government in its fight against Islamic extremists trying to seize power in Mogadishu.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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