Uganda plans law to allow military prosecution of civilians

The Ugandan government plans to enact legislation permitting military courts to prosecute civilians for specific offenses, despite the Supreme Court’s prohibition of this practice.

Human rights advocates and opposition lawmakers have consistently claimed that President Yoweri Museveni’s administration utilizes military tribunals to try opposition figures and their backers on charges driven by political motives. The authorities reject the allegations.

In January, Uganda’s Supreme Court issued a ruling that prohibited military trials for civilians, compelling the government to move opposition politician and former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye’s case to civilian courts.

If implemented successfully, the new legislation may enable the government to return Besigye to a military court martial.

The legislation has been prepared and is pending cabinet approval before being presented in parliament, Nobert Mao, the justice and constitutional affairs minister, informed parliament late Thursday.

He stated that the law will delineate “extraordinary conditions in which a civilian can fall under military law.” Besigye, an experienced political opponent of Museveni, has been held in custody for almost five months on what his attorneys claim are politically driven accusations.

He was held in nearby Kenya in November and later moved to Uganda, where he faced charges in a military court-martial for illegal firearm possession among various other crimes.