President Museveni has justified the decision to charge civilians in the army courts saying unlike the civilian courts, these help to handle “gun-wielding criminals quickly.”
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In a statement on his social media platforms, the president said the army courts were intoduced because of the rampant activities of criminals and terrorists which could not be handled by civilian courts which were clogged with many cases.
The statement comes amid the trial of Dr Kizza Besigye, arguably Uganda’s most prominent opposition leader in the General Court Martial on alleged charges of possessing a gun.
Lawyers and other civil society actors have argued that it is illegal to try civilians in army courts. The Constitutional Court affirmed this in 2021, in a case brought by former Nakawa MP, Michael Kabaziguruka. The state appealed but the Supreme Court is yet to deliver a verdict, three years later.
The president said army courts had restored peace and stability in the Karamoja sub-region by legally putting away confused youth who were wreaking havoc.
He said civilians not satisfied with the ruling of the army courts can still appeal in the civilian courts.
“In the meantime the country is peaceful because the disturbers are state guests at Kitalya and other prisons,” Museveni said.