Tag Archives: military courts

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has assented to the controversial Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (Amendment) Act, 2025, which grants military courts the power to try civilians. In May this year, Members of Parliament from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), leveraging their numerical strength, passed the UPDF (Amendment) …

KAMPALA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | On Tuesday, the Minister of Defence and Veterans’ Affairs, Jacob Oboth Oboth, introduced to Parliament a UPDF Amendment Bill aimed at, among other things, reintroducing provisions that allow military courts to try civilians—individuals otherwise not subject to military law. According to Oboth, the 144-page …

KAMPALA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo, has issued a circular to all prosecutors with guidance on implementing the Supreme Court’s judgment that prohibits the trial of civilians in military courts. According to Circular No. 1/2025, the Supreme Court’s ruling, delivered on …

Why have they become a popular tool of repression? COVER STORY | THE INDEPENDENT | The military court martial of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) that sits at Makindye in Kampala City has gained international notoriety for trying civilians. International scrutiny of the court martial has intensified since it started …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Constitutional court has for the second time in less than two years ruled that military courts have no power to try civilians. In a majority ruling written by now Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Musoke, the court held that military courts are not courts of …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Supreme Court has issued an interim order staying the implementation of the Constitutional court ruling barring the military courts from trying civilians. The order has been issued by a panel of five Justices led by the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo saying that he …