Uganda's civil courts and the administration of military justice : an appraisal of their jurisprudence on selected issues

Abstract

The last two decades stand out as the most important period in Uganda's history as far as civil courts' engagement with issues of military justice is concerned. In this period, Uganda's civil courts have handled many cases concerning the administration of military justice more than in any other epoch. Key among these cases include: Attorney General v Major General David Tinyefuza, Brigadier Henry Tumukunde v The Attorney General & Electoral Commission, Joseph Tumushabe v Attorney General, Attorney General v. Joseph Tumushabe, Uganda Law Society and Jackson Karugaba v Attorney General, Uganda Law Society v The Attorney General, Attorney General v Uganda Law Society, Dr Kizza Besigye & Others v Attorney General, Uganda Law Society v Attorney General, and Major General James Kazini v Attorney General. A key observation about many of these cases is that they involve senior army officers/former senior army officers challenging their prosecution by the military justice system as essentially persecution by Government for their critical views. This is for instance true of the Tinyefuza case, the Tumukunde case, the Kazini case and the cases involving Rtd Col Dr. Kiiza Besigye.