The judge said while the crime was repugnant, he did not believe a
death sentence would "give closure to the indelible pain that society
has suffered."
Kenya Defence Force soldiers arrive in Garissa University College in Garissa April 4, 2015.
Five men were jailed for life
in Uganda on Friday for their role in two al Shabaab bombings that
killed 76 people among crowds watching the World Cup soccer final in
July 2010.
The attacks, at a popular restaurant
and a sports field where fans had gathered to watch the Spain vs
Netherlands final on large screens, showed the ability of the Islamist
militant group to strike far beyond the borders of its native Somalia.
It
said the blasts were to avenge killings of Somalis by Ugandan troops,
who were deployed to the Horn of Africa nation in 2007 as part of an
African Union peacekeeping force to help defeat al Shabaab.
High Court judge Alphonse Owiny Dollo said it was likely most of those killed and maimed were opposed to the deployment by the Uganda People's Defence Force.
"The
hundreds of victims of these wanton acts had nothing to do with the
decision to deploy the UPDF in Somalia," he said. "And yet because of
these senseless and indiscriminate attacks, they are either dead or
permanently living with the scars of these deeds."
The
judge said while the crime was repugnant, he did not believe a death
sentence would "give closure to the indelible pain that society has
suffered."
Two other men found guilty of abetting
the attacks were each given 50 years in jail. A third will do community
service for a year because he had stayed in remand longer than the three
years he would have served for being an accomplice, the court ruled.
Four
of the convicted men were Kenyans, three were Ugandans and one was a
Tanzanian. Except for the one sentenced to community service, the rest
were convicted on multiple charges of terrorism, murder and attempted
murder.
Five others were acquitted when the
verdicts were read on Thursday. Two other Ugandans were jailed in 2011
after pleading guilty to terrorism charges related to the attacks, and
were handed sentences of 25 and five years respectively.
Ugandan
security said the blasts were carried out by suicide bombers but al
Shabaab denied that, saying the bombs were planted at the scene.
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