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Museveni steers ruling party to support trial of civilians in military courts
Museveni steers ruling party to support trial of civilians in military courts
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni is rallying legislators from his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party to back amendments to a law that could provide legal cover to try his long-time rival in military courts.
The amendments to the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) Act are in response to an earlier Supreme Court ruling that quashed charges against Kizza Besigye, the veteran opposition leader who has been detained since his rendition from Kenya in November.
The bill is expected in parliament this week and Museveni wants it fast-tracked, according to sources who spoke to The EastAfrican. This comes after Museveni met with NRM lawmakers at State House in Entebbe on February 21, where they decided to support proposals to amend the UPDF Act and the next budget.
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Museveni has stuck to his guns and is holding on to Besigye despite the quashing of the charges. Besigye was arraigned in a civilian court last week after ending a hunger strike.
But there are fears among lawyers that Besigye could be sent back to the military tribunal now that it has been empowered and the loopholes cited by the Supreme Court have been sealed.
The NRM has a majority in parliament and is expected to pass the amendments easily. Similarly controversial amendments such as the 2005 term limit bill and the 2017 age limit bill, in which President Museveni had a vested interest, sailed through and MPs who tried to block them found themselves in jail.
President Museveni recently said that military courts could not be abolished.
“The country is not governed by judges. It is governed by the People – all of us Ugandans, who are old enough to vote.
“The Military Courts helped us to discipline Karamoja. We cannot and will not abandon this useful instrument for stability. Civilian magistrates were even fearing to go to Karamoja,” the president said after the Supreme Court ruling on January 31. Last week, Besigye and his co-accused, Obeid Lutale, were charged in a civilian court.
Legal experts argue that Museveni’s insistence on military courts could stem from his long-standing opposition to granting bail for capital offenders, calling it a mistake that needs to be addressed.
Treason is a capital offence under Ugandan law and can carry the death penalty.
The military court has a history of denying bail to suspects on trial in its jurisdiction.
Addressing the newly appointed judges last week, the president reiterated his stance, saying people do not want criminals to return to society on bail.
“The Banyankore have a saying: ‘Areireyo yagaruka’, meaning he stole and returned from prison unbothered. People are fed up with this. It is provocative and must stop,” he said.
He defended the military courts and their jurisdiction over soldiers and certain civilian cases, saying: “The military courts serve two key purposes: first, to maintain discipline within the army, and second, to handle cases involving armed criminals. If a soldier commits an offence, handling it through civilian courts would undermine military discipline,” he explained.
Besigye’s case, however, has political overtones, with Museveni’s son Muhoozi Kainerugaba boasting of how he could get him back to court martial. Muhoozi is the chief of Uganda’s Defence Forces. Over the weekend, he had an online exchange with Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, about a relationship she allegedly had with Museveni in the past. Winnie admitted it was a “normal relationship” that ended in the 1980s.
For now, Besigye remains in custody after he and two others were brought before the Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court in Kampala and formally charged with treason.
Besigye was taken from Nairobi, Kenya, in November and brought back to Uganda with his running mate Obed Lutale, and initially charged with treason and illegal possession of firearms. On Friday, Besigye was brought in in a wheelchair as prosecutors alleged that the opposition leader, Lutale and Denis Oola were plotting to overthrow the Ugandan government by force of arms.
Besigye’s appearance at the magistrate’s court, where his lawyers were informed minutes before he was brought to court, followed agitation from various quarters, prompting Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi to visit him in Luzira Prison on Sunday and assure the country that the files were being prepared for transmission to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Besigye’s file was reportedly sent to the DPP on Thursday evening and a team of prosecutors has reportedly been assembled to handle cases arising from the court martial.
According to his lawyer Erias Lukwago, Besigye ended the hunger strike, which had taken a toll on his health, after more than a week without food. His deteriorating health had drawn condemnation from international bodies such as the Commonwealth, Amnesty International and other rights groups around the world.
Besigye had been protesting his continued detention at Luzira Maximum Prison after the Supreme Court blocked the military court from trying civilians.
In its ruling of January 31, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the military court had no power to try civilians and called for amendments to the Uganda People’s Defence Act of 2005.
Although the president says civilian courts are slow in trying cases, the military court is just as sluggish.
Several supporters of the opposition National Unity Platform, led by Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, who were arrested after the 2021 presidential elections, are still in prison after being charged by the General Court Martial.
According to Lukwago, Besigye’s lawyers are working hard to ensure that he is granted bail so that he can access medical care outside prison. His next court appearance is on March 7.
