Military trial of Uganda opposition leader to continue despite court ruling

KAMPALA: Uganda’s president condemned on Saturday a Supreme Court ruling that civilians cannot be tried in military court, while the army said it would continue court martialling ex-presidential candidate Kizza Besigye.

Besigye was once President Yoweri Museveni’s trusted personal doctor but has become a government target since joining the opposition 25 years ago and unsuccessfully running for president four times.

He was abducted in November and has been facing the death penalty on treason charges in a court martial that his wife, UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima, has called a “sham”.

The country’s chief justice ruled on Friday it was unconstitutional for civilians to be tried in military courts, raising hopes Besigye’s treason trial might be halted.

“I was sorry to hear of the wrong decision by the supreme court”, President Yoweri Museveni said on X on Saturday.

Uganda “cannot and will not abandon this useful instrument for stability”, he said. “Armed illegal operators should be tried, initially, in military courts to protect the society,” he added.

Earlier, army spokesman Chris Magezi said: “Under no circumstances will Colonel Kizza Besigye be released until he faces the full extent of martial law.”

“The General Court Martial will continue to try anyone who conspires to murder the president, commits armed rebellion against Uganda and engages in terrorism against the people of Uganda,” Magezi said.

Opposition figures and human rights defenders condemned the army’s decision.

Politician Medard Sseggona told AFP it was “an indication of breakdown of the rule of law in Uganda”.

“We have seen of recent the military taking over civilian authority and overthrowing the constitutional order,” he added.

“The military defiance against the ruling is shocking but telling,” said former opposition MP Michael Kabaziguruka.

Kabaziguruka successfully challenged his own trial in military court, prompting an appeal that led to Friday’s decision.

“We are in a military state,” he told AFP, adding that he would be closely watching how the army “will subvert the decision of the court”.

The UN and several rights organisations have voiced concern about the suppression of the opposition in Uganda in the run-up to the presidential election expected in January 2026. The 80-year-old Museveni will have been in power for 40 years by that time.