PREVIEW
The president has ignored an order from the Chief Justice to release the opposition leader, who was abducted by security forces, and transfer his trial to a civilian court
President Yoweri Museveni has defied a Supreme Court judgement ordering the release of opposition leader Kizza Besigye and mandating that Besigye can only be tried in a civilian trial. Last week, the Supreme Court in Kampala halted Besigye’s trial before the General Court Martial, ruling that civilians cannot be tried by a military court. Besigye and two allies have been arraigned on charges of weapons possession and treachery.
‘All charges, ongoing criminal trials, or pending trials before the courts-martial involving civilians must immediately cease and be transferred to the ordinary courts of law,’ ruled Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo.
Besigye was abducted by Uganda’s security services in Nairobi on 16 November and secretly returned to Uganda from Kenya. He was charged four days after his disappearance, having had no contact with his family or lawyers (Dispatches 14/1/25,Activists’ kidnapping highlights police campaign of repression). His lawyers, led by National Rainbow Coalition–Kenya leader Martha Karua, visited the Uganda Prisons Service headquarters on 3 February to demand his immediate release (Dispatches 17/12/24, Keeping Martha Karua out of court).
However, there is little sign that Besigye will be released from detention. Army spokesperson Colonel Chris Magezi responded to the Supreme Court ruling by insisting that Besigye and his fellow accused would not be released until they had faced ‘the full extent of the martial law’. Museveni has accused the Court of being misguided and defended the military court process as a ‘useful instrument for stability’.
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