Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday signed into law a new bill that permits civilians to be tried in military courts.
Critics contend this legislation could be utilised against opposition figures ahead of next year’s general election.
This new legal development proceeds despite a late January Supreme Court ruling that declared it unconstitutional for civilians, such as opposition leader Kizza Besigye, to face military tribunals.
Besigye, 69, was controversially abducted in Nairobi in November, only to reappear days later in a Ugandan military court, where he was charged with treason, a crime that carries a potential death penalty. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, his case was transferred to a civilian court.
However, the newly enacted law introduces “exceptional circumstances” under which civilians can be subjected to military law. These include “unlawful possession of arms, ammunition, or equipment,” which is one of the charges Besigye is currently facing. Uganda’s parliament announced the signing of the law on X (formerly Twitter).
Besigye’s lawyer, Erias Lukwago, told AFP that the law’s primary purpose is to enable the “illegal detention and trial of Besigye and others.”
Besigye has already been held in jail beyond the six-month legal limit for detention without trial.
Robert Kyagulanyi, widely known as Bobi Wine, Uganda’s other prominent opposition leader, also told AFP that “All of us in the opposition are being targeted by the Act.”
Human rights lawyer Eron Kiiza, who himself was previously jailed by a military court for six months for alleged misconduct while defending Besigye, stated his intent to legally “challenge the Act.”
Rights groups broadly interpret Besigye’s abduction and treason trial as tactics linked to the upcoming January election, where President Museveni, 80, aims to extend his four decades in power.
