By Editorial,
President Yoweri Museveni has assented to the controversial Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (Amendment) Act, 2025, which grants military courts the power to try civilians.
In May this year, Members of Parliament from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), leveraging their numerical strength, passed the UPDF (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The new law paves the way for civilians to be tried in military courts, a move that has sparked widespread criticism.
Parliament today announced on its official X account that the President had signed the bill into law; the post including screenshots of the assented Act.
The Act also establishes a Directorate of Military Prosecutions to professionalize the prosecution process. Director must be a serving member of the Defence Forces, not below the rank of Colonel, and qualified to be appointed a High Court Judge.
The legislation lays out a clear appellate structure for military court decisions, moving from the Unit Court Martial to the Division Court Martial, then to the General Court Martial, followed by the Court of Appeal, and ultimately, the Supreme Court. END