Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday declared the Supreme Court decision in the matter of trying armed civilians in a military court martial as ‘wrong’, stating that the method reinforces the civilian judicial system in defending the lives of people against criminals armed with guns. This follows after the court declared trials of civilians in military courts unconstitutional.

The court, in Attorney General v Kabaziguruka, upheld the decision, stating that the General Court Martial (GCM) lacked jurisdiction to try civilians for offenses under the penal code or other laws. The appeal arose from a petition filed in 2021, challenging the jurisdiction of the General Court Martial to try civilians under the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Act, alleging violations of constitutional provisions. 

Sections 2 and 179 of the UPDF Act, subjecting civilians to military law and triable by military courts, were found in contravention of articles 28(1) and 44(c) of the Constitution. This was because these courts were neither independent nor impartial. The court in appeal affirmed that military courts lacked the required legal training and were specifically set to provide discipline to armed forces officers.

Museveni stated,

“I was sorry to hear of the wrong decision by the Supreme Court in the matter of the fire-arms armed civilians being tried by the Military Court Martial… If you are not a soldier, why do you arm yourself with guns and, moreover, for criminal purposes and illegally, that are a monopoly of the Armed Forces? If you voluntarily acquire these guns, why should you complain when you are tried in a forum that deals with those matters when soldiers are involved?” He also praised the military courts for their help in disciplining Karamoja. He added, “We cannot and will not abandon this useful instrument [military courts] for stability.”

He also said that the country is not governed by judges, including some who are “foreign-oriented,” but by people old enough to govern themselves by having referenda or constitutional amendments or amendments of the laws by Parliament.

The Law Society of Uganda welcomed the ruling as a step towards ending the use of military courts to intimidate civilians and silence dissent. It further issued directives to various arms of government. The directives issued to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and all security agencies include the release of all civilians currently held for trial in military courts, cessation of all pending prosecutions of civilians in military courts, transfer of relevant cases to civilian courts where appropriate, and compliance with the ruling, among other things. The society has urged the parliament to establish clear jurisdictional boundaries between military and civilian courts and safeguards against future military overreach into civilian justice. Among other bodies that have hailed the ruling is Human Rights Watch, which has termed it a “major step to protect the right to a fair trial in Uganda”.