UPDF Amendment Bill 2025: Here are the Circumstances Under Which Civilians Will be Tried in Military Courts

The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill 2025 – or UPDF Amendment Bill 2025 – is expected to be read for the first time in Uganda’s Parliament during plenary on May 13.

The amendment bill is significant because it seeks to reform military courts by creating a three-tier system, spelling out judges’ qualifications, and handling the thorny issue of trial of civilians in army courts.

Jacob Oboth Oboth, the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, will table the UPDF Amendment Bill 2025.

The bill seeks to streamline the composition of the organs and structures of Defence Forces, define service offences, court martial, and military court, among others.

It also seeks provide for the restructuring and reestablishment of the courts martial, to prescribe the jurisdiction of courts martial, and provide for the membership, qualifications of the Chairpersons of courts martial, independence of the courts martial and the issue of appeals from the courts martial.

Government also hopes to use the UPDF Amendment Bill 2025 to provide for the exceptional circumstances under which civilians may be subject to military law and to prescribe the offences for which civilians may be tried by the courts martial.

The amendment bill also provides for the establishment of a military courts department within the defence forces, the establishment of a disciplinary unit within the defense forces which shall be responsible for the discipline of members of the military courts department.

The other issue that the UPDF Amendment Bill 2025 seeks to cure is the clear prescription of the arms, ammunition and classified stores that are a monopoly of the Defence Forces.

The bill is also in response to a Supreme Court ruling on trial of civilians in army courts.

“Additionally, the Bill seeks to implement the Supreme Court decision in constitutional Appeal No. 2 of 2021, Attorney General vs Hon. Micheal A. Kabaziguruka by restructuring and re-establishing the courts martial in the Defence Forces and prescribing their jurisdiction,” the bill reads in part.

“The Bill provides for the membership and the qualifications of the chairpersons of the courts martial and for the independence of the courts martial and appeals from the courts martial. The Bill further stipulates the exceptional circumstances under which civilians may be tied by the courts martial.”

TRIAL OF CIVILIANS IN MILITARY COURTS

The bill lists some of the civilians – people other than a member of the Defence Forces – that will be subject to military law under exceptional circumstances.

These include a situation where the person voluntarily accompanies any unit or other element of the Defence Forces which is in active service in any place; or while serving with the Defence Forces under an engagement by which he or she has agreed to be subject to military law.

The other circumstance is where the person in unlawful possession of arms, ammunition or equipment  ordinarily being the monopoly of the Defence Forces, prescribed in schedule 7A to the UPDF Act or classified stores prescribed in schedule 7B to the same Act.

A civilian will also be tried in a military court if he or she aids or abets a person subject to military law in the commission of, or conspires with a person subject to military law to commit the offences of murder, aggr@vated r0bbery, kidnap with intent to murder, treason,  misprision of treason, or cattle rustling.

A civilian who, without authority, is found in possession of, sells or wears a uniform of the Defence Forces; or where the person is found in unlawful possession of arms, ammunition or equipment ordinarily being the monopoly of the Defence Forces, prescribed in Schedule 7A to the UPDF Act, or classified stores as prescribed in Schedule 7B to the UPDF Act.

A civilian serving in the position of an officer or militant of any force raised and maintained outside uganda and commanded by an officer of the Defence Forces can also be subjected to trial in military courts.

It should be remembered that the Supreme Court of Uganda banned trial of civilians in military courts, but President Museveni punched holes in the ruling, saying Uganda does not belong to judges. (See Details Here, There and Over There).

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