KAMPALA, UGANDA — The Ugandan government presented a bill in Parliament on Tuesday that would permit military tribunals to prosecute civilians, just months after the country’s Supreme Court deemed the practice unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court’s January ruling compelled the government to transfer the trial of opposition politician and former presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye to a civilian court, where state prosecutors have charged him with several offenses, including treason.
Political allies and lawyers for Dr. Besigye, who has been defeated by President Yoweri Museveni in four elections, assert that the accusations are politically motivated. Minister of Defence Jacob Marksons Oboth introduced the “Uganda People’s Defence Forces Bill, 2025” in Parliament on Tuesday, where it was referred to a House committee for review.
According to the draft law, which has been seen by Vivid Voice News, civilians may be tried under military law in exceptional circumstances, such as when they are in “unlawful possession of arms, ammunition or equipment ordinarily being the monopoly of the defence forces.”
In November, Dr. Besigye was forcibly removed from Nairobi, Kenya, and presented before a military court in neighboring Uganda a few days later, where he was charged with offenses including the illegal possession of firearms.
The Kenyan government denied any involvement in what it described as Dr. Besigye’s abduction.
The new bill also encompasses crimes of abetting or aiding a soldier to commit crimes such as treason, murder, and aggravated robbery, among others.
Human rights activists and opposition politicians have long accused President Museveni’s government of utilizing military courts to prosecute opposition leaders and supporters on politically motivated charges.
“The new law will be used to persecute regime opponents and deal with the growing resistance against the regime,” stated David Lewis Rubongoya of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Uganda’s largest opposition party.
Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NUP’s leader, Bobi Wine, announced on Friday his intention to contest the presidential election scheduled for January, in which President Museveni is widely expected to seek reelection.
