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Supreme Court Unchains Civilians From The Court Martial:The Fall of a Gilded Cage

Chris Kato
The Magnificent Supreme Court Building under which the coram of 7 justices  of the Supreme Court sat to unanimously pronounce itself on the Attorney General of Uganda’s appeal to the constitutional verdict that had earlier in 2021, set aside trial of civilians in court martial

Uganda Today Edition: Supreme Court Unchains Civilians From The Court Martial:The Fall of a Gilded Cage

In a seismic declaration that sent ripples through the bastions of military jurisprudence, the Supreme Court of Uganda has struck the gavel against the long-standing tradition of trying civilians in the military tribunal, effectively cutting the umbilical cord that tethered non-military persons to the iron grip of the Court Martial. In this momentous ruling, the highest temple of justice in the land has etched a new dawn upon the tablets of Uganda’s legal annals, pronouncing with the authority of Olympus that the Court Martial must return to its original fold—an internal disciplinary tribunal, bound within the barracks and solely reserved for soldiers and their brethren in arms.

No longer shall the ununiformed, the unsuspecting, and the unfortunate civilians be dragged before the Court Martial, to be judged by men and women sworn not to the impartiality of the law but to the unyielding command of the Commander-in-Chief. No more shall the shadows of military might loom over the freedoms of civilians, for the Supreme Court, in an eloquent stroke of constitutional clarity, has drawn a firm boundary between the barracks and the civilian courts of law.

Their Lordships of the Supreme Court of Uganda at their landmark sitting to make the much awaited ruling on the constitutional court verdict Attorney General of Uganda Vs Kabaziguruka of 2021.

Summary of The Orders of The Supreme Court

  1. Civilians No More Before the Court Martial: The Supreme Court has decreed with finality that no civilian, regardless of the allegations against them, shall ever be tried before the Court Martial. Justice must flow from the fount of civilian courts, untouched by the hands of military influence.
  2. A Tribunal, Not a Court of Law: The Court Martial stands revealed for what it was always meant to be—a disciplinary tribunal for the men and women clad in the garb of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). It is neither a court of law nor an institution to adjudicate crimes in the civilian realm.
  3. Military Officers Themselves Are Not Exempt: Even among those who bear arms for the Republic, the reach of the Court Martial is not absolute. It is only a vessel for military discipline, not an instrument for all manner of trials. If an officer or enlisted soldier is accused of a crime beyond indiscipline, such cases must be processed through the civilian legal system.
  4. No Powers of Conviction or Sentencing: The Supreme Court, like a master sculptor refining a flawed statue, has chipped away the excesses of the Court Martial, declaring that it holds no power to convict or imprison anyone. Its members, being military officers and not judicial officers, lack the jurisdiction to wield the sword of justice.
  5. Only Disciplinary Measures Within Military Ranks: The gavel has fallen, and with it, the Court Martial has been stripped of judicial pretensions. It may demote ranks, discharge soldiers from service, or hand down internal disciplinary measures—but never again shall it stand as a court that dispenses justice beyond the barracks.
  6. The Domain of the DPP: The Supreme Court has ordained that all cases—save for military indiscipline—must be handed over to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Justice must be served in the light of civilian jurisprudence, not in the shroud of military authority.
  7. The Convicted Shall See the Sun Again: Those who languish in prison cells today, condemned by the hand of the Court Martial, are to have their cases revisited by competent civilian courts. The verdicts passed by a tribunal never meant to convict shall now be tested before true judicial arbiters.
  8. A Tribunal Cannot Be Independent: The Supreme Court has unveiled an inconvenient truth—the Court Martial, constituted by officers whose oath binds them to the President, can never stand as an independent institution of justice. It is, by its very nature, an extension of military command, not a separate, fair, and neutral court of law.
  9. No Undoing of Completed Sentences: But in the spirit of balance, the Court has set a limit to its retrospective gaze. Those who have served their sentences in full shall not be granted a windfall of legal reversal. Justice, while reformative, shall not be rewritten for those whose fates are already sealed.

Thus, the mighty Supreme Court has spoken, and the walls of injustice have crumbled. The Court Martial is no longer the iron fist over civilians; its power is bound within its rightful sphere. The air is thick with the scent of legal emancipation, and the annals of Ugandan justice shall record this day as the moment when the law reclaimed its dominion over the land.

So orders the Supreme Court of Uganda

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