The Democratic Party (DP) has accused President Museveni of politicizing the alleged trial of civilians in Military Courts, calling it ‘a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.’
According to the DP spokesperson Ismail Kirya, the party respects the president’s opinion though it is only filled with a political lens not Rule of law and constitutionalism.
He made the remarks while addressing the members of the press on Tuesday, December 17 2024 at the party headquarters on Balintuma Road in Kampala.
Kirya’s accusations stem from a letter that President Museveni released last week justifying the civilian trial in courts.
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In the clarification letter, Museveni explained that some civilians had started using military equipment such as guns to terrorize others, something that necessitated the parliament to enact the law in 2005 to try such elements in the court martial.
“As the Democratic party, we want to inform the president once again that the General Court Martial is meant to enforce discipline in military officers. Now trying civilians selectively in the General Court Martial violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” Kirya said.
“The reason why we insist on the civilians not being tried in the General Court Martial is that the issues will be politicized,” he added.
He appealed to Museveni to respect the court ruling of the Supreme Court on the jurisdictions of the Appeals from the Court Martial.
The recent arrest of opposition figure Dr. Kizza Besigye from Kenya by Ugandan military officers has dominated the public domain, where some of the prominent politicians in opposition have criticized it, citing rampant abuse of human rights and lack of rule of law.
