Ugandan Lawmakers Bring Back Military Courts' Ability to Try Civilians

By Africa News with AP

Ugandan lawmakers on Tuesday passed a government-backed bill to authorize civilian trials in military courts, defying widespread criticism by opposition figures and others who called it a backward gesture.

The contentious legislation was introduced earlier this year after the Supreme Court ruled that civilians can’t be court-martialed, questioning the competence of untrained military officers to dispense justice.

The bill states that civilians can be court-martialed if their alleged offenses are “in support of or in association with persons subject to military law.” It also says that presiding officers must be qualified in law.

But opposition figures, rights activists and others insist such legislation is an anti-democratic effort as the east African country heads into elections scheduled for 2026.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International has warned that military courts could help "entrench repression ahead of the 2026 elections."

Some members of the opposition walked out of the parliamentary chamber before the bill was passed, protesting what they said was an illegality.

The legislation is an attempt to “unconstitutionally grant judicial powers reserved for superior courts to subordinate military courts that have specialized jurisdiction to handle only military disciplinary offenses,” the Uganda-based rights group Chapter Four said in a statement.

President Yoweri Museveni, an authoritarian leader who has held power in the east African country since 1986, is expected to sign the bill within days.

The president and his son, army commander Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, had condemned the Supreme Court's decision to effectively disband court-martials. Days after that ruling, government officials launched the process of introducing legislation to keep military courts active.

Museveni said in a statement following the court’s decision that “the country is not governed by the judges.” He is expected to run again in polls set for January 2026.

Many Ugandans expect an unpredictable political transition because the 80-year-old Museveni has no obvious successor within the ranks of the ruling National Resistance Movement party.

Some observers fear that in future he may step aside in favor of Kainerugaba in a bloodless coup. Kainerugaba has asserted his wish to succeed his father as president.