By Mulengera Reporters
In disallowing the Attorney General’s argument trying to jystify continued trial and persecution of civilians in military courts, the seven Supreme Court Justices last Friday made it clear that much as it’s a court, there is no way the General Court Martial can continue trying civilians without contravening Articles 28(1) and 44(c) which make the right to fair hearing or fair trial non-derogable.
It also come out very clearly that much as it’s a Court, it’s not a competent one (as required under Chapter 8 of the Constitution) because it’s not impartial and independent as is envisaged elsewhere in the same Constitution!
It also ought to be clrified that, mere shielding of civilians against persecution through the Court Martial doesn’t in any way take away or diminish Gen Museveni’s mandate to pubish anyone who commits a crime-as the avenue or forum of ordinary courts, as established under Chapter 8 of the Constitution, remains open and available for the government to utilize through the office of the DPP.
Back to the Mike Kabaziguruka ruling: Being the apex or highest Court of Judicature, the thing is sealed and there is no where else Gen Museveni can go. The best he can do is to use his numbers in Parliament to amend the Constitution by altering the two referenced articles (Articles 28 & 44) and actually delete the entire Chapter Four-which is also known as the Bill of Rights.
He equally has to use his NRM-dominated Parliament to delete Article 92 of the Constitution which expressly and unambigeously prohibits retrospective legislation. Simply put; Article 92 prohibits Parliament from enacting any law that has the effect of altering or rendering meaningless a Court decision.
If displeased with a Court decision, the aggrieved party appeals to a court of higher jurisidiction but that remedy isn’t available anymore because the people’s Supreme Court, the apex Court in the land, has spoken and the Honorable Justices word in final on any matter.
Even though Gen Museveni were to use his tyranny of numbers in Parliament to delete Articles 92, 28 and 44 and the entire Bill of Rights/chapter four, there will be massive consequences including making Uganda lose any ground to claim being a rule of law country where individual human rights are respected or where all citizens are equal before the law.
The deletion of all these provisions will deprive Gen Museveni of any ground to pretend to be a democrat presiding over a law-abiding country in which all people have equal opportunity and are treated equally before the law. One would say, what’s wrong with that deprivation?
Uganda is already being shunned by credible investors; the very reason we only end up getting Kiwaani investors (as all citizens know by now). Our collective failure as a country to conduct ourselves like a country where the rule of law reigns supreme scares off would-be credible investors and actually diminishes Uganda’s attractiveness as a favorable conducive investment destination. This is the reason why Gen Museveni, indifferent as we Ugandan citizens know him to have become, can’t dare delete the Bill of Rights from the Constitution.
Inability to lawfully do anything about the Friday Court ruling, which invalidated the trial of civilians in Court Martial, is something Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and Dr. Livingstone Ssewanyana referred to in the Monday Daily Monitor newspaper.
The two made it clear, quite correctly, that having Parliament amend the law in order to circumvent the consequences of the Kabaziguruka ruling (the way Gen Museveni directed AG Kiwanuka Kiryowa to do) will directly breach Article 92 of the Constitution and thereby making the ageing leader from Rwakitura susceptible to subsequent defeats in Court.
Whoever goes to Court in defense of Article 92 (in case Kiryowa becomes timid and proceeds as directed as opposed to boldly looking Gen Museveni in the eye and advise him) will be assured of victory. They won’t have to hire very good lawyers to be able to succesfully convince the Constitutional Court that such resultant legislation is null and void.
Dr. Sarah Bireete and Peter Walubiri, both of whom are very senior Constitutional lawyers, say that there is no way Gen Museveni (who risks attracting mad man Donald Trump’s attention and rebuke or even worse) can defy the Supreme Court without overthrowing the Constitution of Uganda, which the seven Supreme Court Justices referenced in very clear terms.
Walubiri, who leads a UPC faction opposed to Museveni-backed baby Dictator Jimmy Akena, makes it clear that if Uganda was a rule of law country, the veteran leader from Rwakitura would by now be locked up and languishing in Luzira over his weekend X statement; castigating the Supreme Court Justices who merely did their work.
Makerere law don Prof Christopher Mbazira says that if its true that the Judges indeed don’t have power, since it belongs to the people as the President fallaciously indicated in his weekend statement, then the four Presidential Election petitions in which Gen Museveni prevailed against his political opponents (Kizza Besigye in 2001 & 2006, Amama Mbabazi in 2016 and Kyagulanyi in 2021) should equally be disregarded since they were rendered by the same Supreme Court deriving power from the same Constitution. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
