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 judicature as defined by the constitution and therefore, can’t try anybody beyond those in military service.
In a petition filed by 167 people led by Among Byamugisha, a retired captain of the National Resistance Army, they contended that although the UPDF Act contains certain provisions that give Military Courts jurisdiction to try civilians for criminal offenses in some instances, these provisions are unconstitutional because they are contrary to the dictates of a number of provisions in the 1995 Constitution.
The petitioners contended that the basic objective of the UPDF is to preserve and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda and therefore has no role in dispensing justice to the civilian population.
The petitioners also contended that because the military court panels are made of people who are not lawyers, they face a problem of appreciating complex issues of evidence. They, therefore, implored the court to rule unconstitutional several sections of the UPDF Act that relates to trying civilians in military courts.
In her ruling joined by Justices; Kenneth Kakuru and Geoffrey Kirwabwire, Musoke held that by parliament enacting the UPDF Act, it acted beyond its powers by creating courts that were never envisaged in the constitution.
Having found that military courts have no jurisdiction to try civilians, the court ordered all files currently under consideration to be remitted to the Director of Public Prosecution for onward management.
It also ordered that all files of civilians in military courts should be transferred to the high court in 14 days under the stewardship of the DPP. The Attorney General who is sued on behalf of the government disagreed with the ruling and appealed it in the Supreme Court which is yet to determine it.
