By Aggrey Baba
Parliament today resumes debate on the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill, 2025, a far-reaching piece of legislation that proposes sweeping changes to the military’s legal framework and has stirred a wave of legal, political, and public controversy.
At the heart of the bill tabled by Defence and Veteran Affairs Minister Jacob Oboth Oboth in December 2024, is a plan to overhaul the UPDF Act, Cap. 330.
The proposed amendments span from the restructuring of the military command system to reasserting the authority of military courts, a move widely seen by many as an attempt to circumvent a landmark Supreme Court ruling that barred the trial of civilians in military courts.
The bill proposes to expand the UPDF structure by establishing two additional military services, the Special Forces Command and the Reserve Force.
It introduces new command organs, including a Joint Military Command and Service Command and Staff Committees, which would assume control over operations, strategy, and wartime planning, which changes are framed by the government as an effort to modernize the force and align the law with evolving Defence policies.
But it is the bill’s provisions on military justice that have raised the most alarm, because just months ago, in January 2025, on 31, the Supreme Court issued a decisive ruling in Attorney General vs Hon. Michael Kabaziguruka, declaring the trial of civilians in military courts unconstitutional.
Kabaziguruka, a former Nakawa MP, had challenged his prosecution before the General Court Martial in 2016, arguing that the military courts lacked the legal mandate to try civilians, agreeing, and ordering that all civilian cases pending before military tribunals be transferred to civilian courts.
Despite this ruling, the new bill seeks to entrench military courts into law by clearly defining their structure, powers, and jurisdiction, recognizing the General Court Martial, Division Court Martial, and a newly introduced Court Martial Appeal Court, and provides for a Military Courts Department and a disciplinary unit to oversee the conduct of its members.
The most contentious clause, however, provides for “exceptional circumstances” under which civilians may be subjected to military justice, particularly those found in possession of arms and ammunition classified as military equipment.
Legal scholars and rights activists see this as a legislative workaround meant to revive a practice the Supreme Court has already struck down.
“It’s a direct affront to the authority of the judiciary,” said Nicholas Opiyo, recently, a constitutional lawyer and director of Chapter Four Uganda, adding that Ugandans are watching the executive attempt to use Parliament to reverse a constitutional victory.
The bill goes even further to redefine service offences, clarify court martial procedures, and empower the Defence Forces to prosecute civilians deemed to threaten national security.
In an effort to give structure to these expanded roles, it proposes qualifications for court martial chairpersons, appeal mechanisms, and guidelines for handling sensitive military property and stores.
Also included in the bill is an extensive restructuring of the welfare and benefits system for active personnel and veterans, transferring pension oversight from the Ministry of Public Service to the Ministry of Defence, establishing a Health Care Service for the army, and creating a Medical Board to assess injuries and disability compensation.
Retired officers and soldiers suffering service-related injuries will be entitled to monthly compensation and helper allowances.
The bill also repeals the Uganda Veterans Assistance Board Act, placing veteran affairs under direct military control, and establishes a Pensions Appeals Board to handle disputes.
Still, the bill’s return to Parliament comes amid simmering allegations of behind-the-scenes bribery, where pposition leaders, led by Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, leader of opposition in parliament allege that legislators were given UGX 100 million each to support the bill, money allegedly drawn from a UGX 55.6 billion supplementary budget passed late last year.
The National Unity Platform (NUP) President Robert Kyagulanyi, accused the government of trying to buy support for a dangerous law with taxpayers money.
Speaker of Parliament Anita Among dismissed the bribery allegations as baseless, calling them a “fabricated political distraction,” despite some MPs like Dr. Twaha Kagabo acknowledging receipt.
However, the accusations have caused visible cracks within the opposition, with some MPs reportedly returning the money, others remained silent, and a few have publicly confirmed receiving it, prompting fierce internal party debates.
The Defence Ministry, on its part, has defended the bill, describing it as a necessary legal update that responds to both the needs of the modern army and recent judicial interpretations.
Minister Oboth Oboth said the amendments are meant to close loopholes, improve efficiency, and reinforce discipline within the military.
President Museveni, who chaired the NRM Parliamentary Caucus meeting that approved the bill’s withdrawal and redrafting in February this year, following the Supreme Court ruling, has repeatedly insisted that certain civilians, especially those involved in terrorism or illegal arms possession, must face military justice, a move others see as one crafted to crash the opposition.
“What do you do with someone who uses military weapons to threaten national security?” Museveni said during a recent address. “They must be dealt with under military law. The court martial is not going anywhere.”
Critics, however, argue that the law’s language and broad definitions could be weaponized against political opponents, activists, and journalists, pointing to Uganda’s long record of opposition figures being tried in military courts, including Dr. Kizza Besigye, Bobi Wine himself, and dozens of their supporters.
As Parliament begins a clause-by-clause review of the bill, public interest in the proceedings remains high, with legal watchdogs, veteran associations, and opposition parties all keenly watching whether MPs will uphold the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling or bow to pressure from the executive. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
