KAMPALA, Uganda, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A Ugandan judge said he hoped a man sentenced for last year's bombing in Kampala would use his 25 years in prison to reflect on the enormity of his crimes.
The country has been on high alert since militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for two attacks July 11, 2010, in Kampala that killed more than 70 people during public viewing parties for the World Cup final.
A Uganda court sentenced Edirs Nsubuga to 25 years in jail for his role in planting the explosive while Muhamoud Mugisha received a five-year prison sentence for conspiracy. Both men issued guilty pleas in the case.
Judge Alfonse Owiny-Dollo said Nsubuga should use his prison term as a time for reflection.
"I do hope he uses his time in prison as a retreat to reflect on the full enormity of the action for which I have had to keep him away from society," the judge was quoted by the BBC as saying.
Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militia in Somalia with ties to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack. The militant group said the Kampala attack was in response to Ugandan military support for the U.N.-backed campaign in nearby Somalia.
