The 32 nomadic herders from northern Kenya were captured in an intelligence operation on Saturday, following an exchange of gunfire in Moroto district in northeastern Uganda, Brigadier General Joseph Balikuddembe told AFP.

They appeared before a military court on Tuesday, the Moroto-based officer said.

"The 32 (suspects)... were convicted and sentenced to 20 years on their own plea of guilty for illegal possession of firearms and ammunitions," he said.

The remote and impoverished northeastern region has endured decades of tit-for-tat armed cattle raids between nomadic clans that wander the lawless frontier between Uganda, South Sudan and Kenya.