KAMPALA: Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that it was unconstitutional for civilians to be tried in military courts, raising hopes that the treason trial of ex-presidential candidate Kizza Besigye may be stopped.

Besigye was once President Yoweri Museveni’s trusted personal physician but has become a government target since joining the opposition 25 years ago and unsuccessfully running for president four times.

He was abducted in November and has been facing the death penalty on treason charges in a court martial that his wife, UNAIDS chief Winnie Byanyima, has called a “sham”.

In the capital Kampala on Friday, chief justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo announced the Supreme Court had ruled that “all ongoing trials involving civilians in the court martial must immediately cease and be transferred to ordinary courts”.

Erias Lukwago, a lawyer representing Besigye, welcomed the end of “impunity” for military courts.

“The ruling today sets Dr Besigye and all others who have been jailed by the military courts free,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2025