Two members of the Ugandan armed forces have been handed lengthy jail terms for their part in violence against protesters last year that left over 50 dead, an army spokesman said Thursday.

The sentences come days after the United States announced sanctions against the head of Ugandan military intelligence, suspected of serious human rights violations.

The two convicted men, a soldier and a member of a local defence unit, were sentenced to life and 35 years in prison respectively for "the murder of three civilians," army spokeswoman Flavia Byekwaso told AFP.

"The trial of the two (...) is in line with the president's directive to bring to account personally those that were involved in the killing of people in the riots in November 2020 so that families of the affected receive justice," she said.

The court's decision was not linked to the US sanctions, she stressed.

The two convicts, who pleaded guilty, have 14 days to appeal their sentences.

The sanctions announced Tuesday by the US Treasury targeted Uganda's chief of military intelligence, Major General Abel Kandiho, citing his and his office's involvement in serious human rights abuses including beatings, sexual assault and electrocution.

The Ugandan military hit back at the sanctions, saying it was "disappointed that such a decision could be made by a country we consider friendly, a partner and a great ally, without due process and in total disregard of the principle of 'fair hearing'."

At least 56 people were shot dead in November 2020 while protesting against the repeated arrest of President Yoweri Museveni's main political opponent, Bobi Wine, who was to face him in the polls a few weeks later.

In January 2021, Mr. Museveni was re-elected after one of the bloodiest election cycles in the country's recent history.

In August the veteran president blamed "indiscipline" and "laziness" among state forces for the incidents that resulted in the death of civilians.

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