Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law a controversial bill permitting civilians to be tried in military courts, a move critics fear could be used against opposition figures ahead of next year’s elections.
This new legislation comes despite a Supreme Court ruling in late January that declared it unconstitutional for civilians to face trial in military courts, a decision that affected opposition leader Kizza Besigye’s case.
Besigye, 69, was forcibly taken by armed men from Nairobi in November and later appeared in a Ugandan military court facing treason charges, which could carry the death penalty.
After the Supreme Court ruling, his trial was transferred to a civilian court.
The law now introduces “exceptional circumstances” under which civilians may still be subjected to military jurisdiction, including offenses such as the “unlawful possession of arms, ammunition or equipment,” charges Besigye is currently facing.
Uganda’s parliament announced the law’s enactment on X.
Besigye’s lawyer, Erias Lukwago, condemned the law, saying it was intended to enable the “illegal detention and trial of Besigye and others.”
Besigye has reportedly been detained for longer than the six-month legal limit for holding suspects without trial.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, expressed concern, telling AFP:
“All of us in the opposition are being targeted by the Act.”
Human rights lawyer and activist Eron Kiiza, who himself spent six months in military detention while defending Besigye, said he plans to legally challenge the new law.
Rights organizations have linked Besigye’s abduction and treason charges to the upcoming January election, where 80-year-old Museveni is expected to seek another term, extending his four-decade rule.
