Uganda turns all eyes to Supreme Court ahead of landmark judgment

12:57PM: Court takes 10-minute break....

The Supreme Court is this morning expected to deliver a landmark judgment that will finally put to rest the debate on whether civilians should be tried in military courts.

Led by Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, a seven-member panel of senior jurists will either rule that it's unconstitutional for military courts to try civilians or that it's constitutionally right to do so.

Other justices are Catherine Bamugemereire, Night Percy Tuhaise, Mike Chibita, Elizabeth Musoke, and Monica Mugenyi.

This comes at a time when four-time presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye and his aide Obeid Lutale have rejected entering a plea before the General Court Martial in Makindye, Kampala.

The duo, who are on remand at prison, face treachery charges that the State slapped against them early this month, following their arrest in Nairobi, Kenya, in November last year and their forceful return to the country to face trial before the military court.

Dr Besigye and Mr Lutale argue that they are not serving military officers and should, therefore, not be tried before a court, whose core mandate is limited to Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers.

The prosecution at the army court argued that since the Supreme Court had not yet issued a final ruling in the case of Attorney General versus Michael Kabaziguruka, which challenges the trial of civilians in military courts, they were free to continue prosecuting them.

However, the unconstitutionality of trying civilians in military courts had already been established in three separate constitutional petitions, including Kabaziguruka versus Attorney General. The former Nakawa East MP and others had been accused of attempting to overthrow the government by force of arms.

In a 2021 ruling on the Kabaziguruka petition, the Constitutional Court, in a 3:2 decision, held that while the Court Martial is a legally recognised court, its jurisdiction is limited to serving officers of the UPDF.

However, the Attorney General appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court and asked for a stay of the implementation of the Constitutional Court orders, which request was granted.

The Judiciary attributed the delay to the deaths of Justices Stella Arach-Amoko and Ruby Opio Aweri, along with the retirement of Justice Faith Mwondha early last year. These events slowed down court proceedings, as a new panel had to be selected to hear the appeal.

They also said the fire outbreak at the Chief Justice's Chambers in Kololo, an upscale city suburb, was a setback to them.

The delay to pass the verdict attracted criticism from human rights activists and lawyers.

While addressing the media last week, Uganda Law Society president Isaac Ssemakadde demanded that the decision be delivered before Dr Besigye, and his co-accused are returned to the military court on February 3.

"We don't care which way you rule, we just want your judgment like yesterday,” he said.