A Ugandan politician promises to keep utilizing military tribunals in defiance of the prohibition

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda declared on Saturday that his administration will not stop using military courts to judge civilians, despite the country’s highest court having declared the practice illegal.

The Supreme Court of the east African nation ruled by a majority on Friday to prohibit civilian prosecutions in military tribunals and mandate the transfer of all pending cases there to civil courts.

Kizza Besigye’s attorney, a prominent opposition figure, praised the decision as providing him with some respite during the country’s general court martial trial.

Museveni called the court’s ruling incorrect in a message to the media on Saturday, adding that military prosecutions support civil courts and have contributed to the peacemaking of Karamoja, an area in northeastern Uganda that has been riven by violent conflict.

“The country is not governed by the judges,” he stated. “We were able to punish Karamoja with the aid of the military tribunals. We can’t and won’t give up on this helpful stability tool.”

Museveni’s government has long been accused by opposition politicians and human rights advocates of employing military tribunals to bring politically motivated accusations against opposition leaders and sympathizers.
The president appoints military court officials, while civilian court judges are autonomous.

Bobi Wine, a former Ugandan pop sensation who is now an opposition leader, has faced weapons-related charges in a military court before.

Longtime Museveni opponent Besigye was arrested in neighboring Kenya in November and sent to Uganda to face charges in the general court martial of various weapons and security offenses.

Since then, he has been detained and was scheduled to return to court on Monday, but his attorneys said following Friday’s decision that he would not.

Although it is generally assumed that Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, would run for reelection next year, he has not publicly announced whether he will do so.