The President of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has expressed his dissatisfaction towards the trial of Dr. Kizza Besigye in the military courts.

Besigye and his co-accused, Obed Lutale, were arraigned before the General Court Martial in Makindye and further remanded to Luzira Prison on December 2, 2024, on charges of illegal possession of ammunition and a firearm.

Kyagulanyi took to his X account on December 4, 2024, blaming the regime for its continued persecution of its opponents in what he referred to as Kangaroo courts, despite the two preliminary constitutional court rulings that barred the trial of civilians by military courts.

“Mr. Museveni takes great delight in military courts because they are under his direct command and control. Those who chair them are not even required to be lawyers at the bare minimum. He chooses when they should remand, prosecute, deny, or grant bail,” Kyagulanyi said.

According to the NUP President, in the period leading to and after the 2021 election, over 2000 NUP supporters who were abducted went through these ‘courts’ across the country and were charged before the General Court Martial, Division Courts Martial, and Unit Disciplinary Committees.

“Although most of them were released after Mr. Museveni had successfully rigged the election and sworn himself in, we still have many stuck in different prisons, being tried by the military,” he stated.

He expressed his concerns over Chief Justice Owiny Dollo’s delay in passing a final decree to end the case before rallying combined effort to condemn such an injustice.

“We must all raise voices against this injustice, which every Ugandan is a potential victim of,” Kyagulanyi said.

The duo, which was arrested in Kenya and repatriated to Uganda, still remain in custody until December 10, 2024, following an announcement by Brigadier Robert Freeman Mugabe, the presiding officer in the court martial, who declared the new date after a defense request for adjournment.