Museveni Signs Law Allowing Military Courts To Try Civilians

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed legislation that allows military courts to try civilians, coming months after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that opposition leader Kizza Besigye’s treason case must be transferred from a military tribunal to a civilian one.

The apex court banned the practice in January, terming it unconstitutional. The court’s decision angered President Museveni who called it “a wrong decision”.

Soon after, the government drafted the contentious UPDF (Amendment) Bill, 2025 which seeks to subject civilians to military law, which the Ugandan Parliament passed last month.

Now, with President Museveni signing the Bill into law, it grants the military courts sweeping powers to try civilians under certain circumstances, a move that critics say contradicts the January 31, 2025, Supreme Court ruling.

The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) MPs on May 20, 2025 passed the Bill seeking to return civilians to be tried in the army courts, but failed to clear up fuzzy clauses on what defines exceptional circumstances for their trial and what should be considered a military attire, as Opposition members walked out in protest.

Hours after passing of the Bill, Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, lauded the MPs and “friendly opposition” legislators for preventing “a serious collision between the army, Parliament, and the courts of law” if it had not been passed.

“I want to congratulate the Members of Parliament for passing the UPDF Amendment Bill. There was going to be a serious problem because some people were saying if a soldier does commit a crime such as killing a person, involving in theft or rapes a woman, they should be taken to the sub county (civilian courts) instead of the court martial. Those who were involved have to repent. There was going to be a serious collision between the army, parliament, and the courts of law, but they have saved us the embarrassment,” President Museveni said on May 21.

(Daily Monitor)