By Lucy Adautin
The Ugandan government is preparing to introduce a law that would allow military tribunals to prosecute civilians for certain offences, despite a previous Supreme Court ruling banning such practices.
Human rights activists and opposition figures have long accused President Yoweri Museveni’s administration of using military courts to target opposition leaders and their supporters with politically motivated charges. The government, however, denies these allegations.
In January 2024, Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled that the military should not have jurisdiction over civilian cases.
This ruling forced the government to transfer the trial of opposition leader and former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye to civilian courts.
Besigye, a longstanding political rival of Museveni, has been detained for almost five months on charges his lawyers argue are politically driven.
He was arrested in neighbouring Kenya in November and later extradited to Uganda, where he was initially tried in a military court for offences such as illegal possession of firearms.
Now, over a year later, Besigye may once again face military prosecution due to the proposed new law.
The draft legislation is currently awaiting approval from the cabinet before being presented to parliament. Human rights organisations and opposition leaders are raising concerns over the bill.
They fear it could be used by the government to target political opponents and suppress dissent.
