The thorny issue of trial of civilians in military courts raised debate in the first sitting of the joint committee on legal and defence affairs, which is scrutinizing the UPDF Amendment Bill 2025.
Scrutinizing of the bill began hours after Defence and Veteran Affairs minister Jacob Oboth Oboth tabled it before Parliament on May 13.
As he appeared before the joint committee on May 14, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka irked opposition MPs when he submitted that the Supreme Court ruling, delivered in January 2025, did not stop the General Court Martial or any military court from trying civilians.
Erute South MP Jonathan Odur and other legislators had accused the state and government of deviating from the ruling of the Supreme Court of Uganda.
“I want to know where you have incorporated the majority opinion of the court in this bill. I have failed to trace it and it appears the drafters of the bill created their own version of the judgement and used it [in the bill].”
But Kiryowa Kiwanuka insisted that the highest court in the land raised concerns on how the General Court Martial was constituted and the qualifications of those who sat on the same court.
In his view, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka says the Supreme Court had issues with the constitution and composition of the General Court Martial and not its jurisdiction.
“I can state without fear of contradiction that the Supreme Court did not say civilians cannot be tried in the General Court Martial,” the attorney general submitted.
“Different judges approached the matter differently but their conclusion was that the Court Martial as it was constituted was not properly set up under the constitution to try civilians.”
In the same joint committee sitting, Nyendo-Mukungwe MP Mathias Mpuuga argued that the proposed amendments violate constitutional protections under Articles 28 and 44(c).
In Mpuuga’s view, the amendments “suggest the UPDF [Amendment Bill] is now supreme, and the Constitution is subordinate.”
The Democratic Alliance leader says that the ruling of the Supreme Court “clearly stated that such cases can be handled in civilian courts,” adding that the “these amendments fail to justify why civilian courts are inadequate to handle them.”
Bugweri County legislator Abdu Katuntu blasted the Court Martial, its members and their chairperson for allowing to be used as a political tool by the regime to persecute its opponents over trivial issues like wearing a beret.
“To the Court Martial officers here, this entire debate is your doing [because] you deviated from the taw and used the Court for purposes it wasn’t intended for,” Katuntu submitted.
“If a civilian is found with artillery, yes, let them be tried by the Court Martial; but if a beret becomes an issue, you are vulgarising the law.”
It should be remembered that even some Kaunda suits can land civilians in trouble with Museveni military courts if the UPDF Bill is passed into law. (See Details Here).
You can also see the circumstances under which civilians can be tried in Museveni military courts in new proposed law Here.
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